Wings of an Angel and a Demon
by allen Vth
Summary: After countless resets, Frisk has finally done it, they gave Asriel a soul, for a price. That's fine for them, because now they can move to the surface as the Ambassador for monsterkind. However, Frisk will not only have to build peace between humans and monsters, but will also have to worry about the attention they gathered from the supernatural world. (Ch. 6; Words: 3992)
1. Breaking The Cycle

_Frisk_ \- Thinking/Flashback

[~*~] – time change

"Frisk" - Dialogue

 _"Frisk"_ / _*Frisk_ – Chara talking through Frisk/mentally communicating to Frisk

* * *

 _ **[Reset]**_

 _They run through the cavern as if Undyne is chasing them, hot tears running down their brown cheeks as they pass a purple archway._

 _They slow down to a stop, their chest pulling in and out as they pant. When they finally get their breathing and tears under control, Frisk pleads, "Asriel, I'm sorry, I-"_

 _"Drop it, Chara," the venom in Flowey's voice causes the Eight Human to flinch._

 _"B-But th-"_

 _"I said_ _ **drop it**_ _!" the soulless prince growls with a fanged tooth and an eerie glow in their eyes._

 _The Frisk has seen them frustrated, but never this angry. They take a step back, choking down a sob. "*Sniff* We-"_

 _They're cut off again, though Flowey's face returned to normal. "So much for 'best friends forever'."_

 _This time they can't hold back a sob._

 _Flowey rolls his eyes, or at least his black beads. "Save it for someone who cares."_

 _That easy dismissal is enough to shatter the thin control Frisk had over their emotions. Now the human is bawling their eyes out, hands uselessly holding the tears back._

 _Flowey releases a frustrated sigh. "Golly, what a crybaby. And to think I was ever scared of you-"_

 _Whatever else he had to say dies out as a white fireball knocks him away. A beat later, Frisk is wrapped in a warm embrace of their mother, even if Toriel doesn't know that at the time._

 **[~*~]**

 _I still can't save him._

Over one-hundred times Frisk has done this: wake up over a field of golden flowers and start their adventure again. They did things differently and did– what they called – the pacifist ending, but that timeline, nor the others, gave them an answer.

 _Why does it always end the same?_

They thought of all forms of solutions for Asriel's lack of soul. Give him a monster Soul. Scratched immediately, especially when their partner said that a Boss Monster's soul would be required – the young goat would never accept that. Their other option was to give their soul, which ended in a forced reset. Then it came to split their soul. Their first attempts ended in death.

After spending months learning soul magic, Chara deemed them ready to try it. At the end of another Pacifist timeline, they approached him knowing it would be painful. He protested heavily, but with Chara's aid, managed to split their heart in half.

At first, everything was fine. Asriel was still himself and they weren't dying, but before letting out a sigh of relief, they coughed out blood. Then more and more till they fell on the ground. Their body spasming on their own as their vision and hearing became muddled. Only Omega Flowey has scared them as much as that moment.

The next time they opened their eyes, they were once again lying on the flower bed. Later discovered, by a distressed ghost, that it was Asriel who reset.

Their future plans involved getting knowledge from _everywhere_. The library, Alphys, the old abandoned kingdom in the Ruins. To sum it all up…they learned nothing new. They knew a monster soul is made of compassion, love and hope. Once a monster dies, they turn to dust – though Alphys never counted on her soul experiments to bring someone back, even if soulless. While monsters can use all forms of magic, they excel at only one element and are atrocious at the rest. Humans, from what Alphys and Mom said, are great in one and weaker on the rest, granting them versatility while lacking the raw power of a monster. Case in point, Undyne the Undying, Sans the 'easiest' monster, Asgore the monster King, and Mom the ex-Queen – the last two holding back against their fights.

From there, they tried different variants like prolonging their stay with Mom, and solve problems differently. Solve issues faster or prolong it. Befriending Undyne during their fight rather than at their house after the 'incident' – the poor fish house never deserved to be burned down. Give suggestions to Mettaton for his show, and even managed to obtain Sans' key to his workshop before getting in the Judgement Hall. And whatever else both of them could think of that would lead them to a piece of information they never heard or an ending where Asriel goes to the surface with them.

 _I did everything already._

Somewhere along their ninety run, they got desperate, and accepted their partner's suggestion for an alternative ending. From there, they started experimenting in the hopes of a different _anything_ to appear. Frisk then wished they had never done so. Dust, cries of pain, fear, and anger, those timelines were indeed a different experience, and what frightened Frisk the most, was that deep inside, they enjoyed the LOVE he was gaining.

Then at some point, it led down to a mental spiral of elation and rush. With every LV they gained, Frisk's frustration over the repetitive failures ebbed away as their Execution Points increased. Somewhere in their mind, they knew what they were doing was horrible, but between the satisfaction on their quick accomplishments and their partner's encouragement, Frisk was determined to see it to the end.

 _But…all I did was turn into a Flowey._ The same thing Asriel had warned them about the surface.

Said goat monster had already left the dark void Frisk is in; the final place where they faced his god form after he absorbed human souls along with every monster from the Underground, but once his true self was brought back, he destroyed the barrier that kept every monster trapped, and returned the soul even when it meant he would reverse back to Flowey.

Frisk bows their head in shame. It may have started with good intentions, but that almost ended with existence itself. They start to feel echoes of dust grinding between his fingers.

 _*It was never going to work, was it?_ Frisk raises their head before turning to the side. Standing next to them is a child that looks so much like them, yet so different. They wear the same brown boots, but their shorts are khaki, and the sweater is light green with a yellow stripe around the chest. They have pale skin with a natural blush, and their hair has a red hue to Frisk's chocolate color. Chara has their rose-colored eyes locked on him with a smile of resignation. Without a body to call their own, they now exist – albeit transparent - thanks to a connection to Frisk's soul.

 _*Thanks, Frisk. You did more than what I've ever asked of you, but maybe it's time we gave up._ Those words are like stabs at Frisk's heart. _*Mom and Dad stayed separate no matter what we did. Six humans died because of me, and Asriel will forever remain Flowey. It's better if we stop before I hurt you too._

They shake their head, knowing full well what they're talking about. "It wasn't your fault. I could have said no."

Chara consents with a nod. _*Yeah, but you still knew it was a terrible idea._ They let out a humorless chuckle. _*Asriel also thought my plan was bad. I should have listened to him. I should have_ _ **listened to you!**_ Their smile becomes more strained, fists clenched to the point where blood would be drawn, and Frisk knows their partner would be crying if they could, so the human does it for them. _*Let's face it, I screwed up, again._

Now tears fall freely from Frisk's eyes. Through their connection, waves of hopelessness and acceptance dampens their own desire to continue. After their first run, Frisk knew it was going to be difficult to keep Asriel as himself, but their achievement of liberating all the monsters made them think that saving one more wouldn't be too difficult.

They were naïve, and in many ways still are.

 _*Frisk_ , Chara's voice breaks them out of their thoughts. Only now does the human notice the swirl of emotions in their partner has calmed, and, for the first time in all their runs, sounds tired. _*You are the kind of friend Asriel needed, not me._

And that was the final nail for Frisk. They take a hasty step forward and wrap their arms around the crestfallen ghost. Being tied to their soul, their arms don't go through like they would with Napstablook.

They wait for Chara to reply or return the hug, but they remain still. Frisk tightens the embrace on their friend. "We're going to save him, and then you can apologize."

They let out a mirthless laugh. _*Frisk, he hates me._

"He never said that."

 _*He didn't have to,_ Chara counters.

Frisk wants to yell in frustration. Cry at the injustice of Asriel's fate. Hurt something to find some sort of relief. Or to finally give up and wallow in the fear that he can't save everyone.

They feel they can sink deeper into the dull depression of their partner. In a way, it feels nice to give up. Frisk can finally let go of accomplishing the impossible.

…Yet, they can't. They begin to feel that familiar pulse in their chest. The same one that kept them going when befriending everyone – their new friends – and to not break down against the monstrosity known as Omega Flowey, and to ultimately save Asriel, even if temporary.

Frisk wants to dismiss the warm feeling, but…they can't. If not for themselves, then for Chara, like they've done for every monster in the Underground.

The thought of their friend smiling for real fills them with determination!

"I will keep trying," they answer after their tears slowed, and they make sure to send that newfound warmth through their connection.

As they do so, Chara stiffens. _*Frisk…don't you have anything better to do?_

If Flowey hadn't caused them to break down, they would have done so now. "Yes," they answer with an even tone. "I want to go to the surface with mom and eat butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I want to play with Papyrus and go through his puzzles." They take a breath to hold back a sob. Their tears coming to a halt. "I want to make bad puns with Sans, and watch Mew Mew: Kiss Cutie with Alphys and Undyne."

With every word they spoke, they feel liberated. Despite sharing a bond with Chara, these have been some of the secret thoughts Frisk had around their fortieth reset. More like their dreams of what a peaceful life on the surface would be.

"But I won't. I'm not leaving the Underground without Asriel. He's my friend too." If their first meeting didn't make them friends, then it was the dozens of times they spent together before a reset – despite Asriel not remembering afterwards.

Then slowly but surely, Chara returns the embrace. Frisk considers this progress. _*Are you…really going that far for me?_

They shake their head. They know better than to add more to Chara's baggage. "I _want_ to do this. I want to know what it's like to live with a fluffy goat-bro." They softened their voice at the end in the hopes to steer the conversation to a nicer topic.

It works, as Chara's dull grief is gently thawed by Frisk's warmth. _*I will warn you, expect a clingy fuzz ball._

"Really?" the human asks in genuine surprise.

 _*Yeah_. Their voice takes a kinder tone, and Frisk is certain their partner is smiling. _*After I fell, he would stay in the same room as me, and it's not like I was the nicest of guests either._

As they listen, Frisk becomes aware that this is the first time Chara talks about their past. Throughout all their resets, both were focused on finding him a soul.

 _*But he was very set on making me his first friend._

"First?" Frisk voices their confusion.

To which Chara nods. _*Dumb kids treated the dirt he walked on like gold, but it was okay. I did get a best friend…_

Their voice drops, but Frisk won't let them sink back down. "And he got one in return."

They can tell Chara wants to say something, probably to deny it or demoralize themselves again, but thankfully decides against it, and bask in the emotional support as they relax.

Frisk appreciates the silence. It gives them time to reorganize their thoughts. They acknowledge they have no solution for Asriel or an idea to follow. They admit to themselves they're tired, but they won't stop. Chara depends on them. So they will continue to power through, meet Asriel again and enjoy the last minutes of the timeline together. Maybe this time they can talk of what a peaceful life between monsters and humans would be like.

After waiting a few more minutes, they ask. "Ready to continue?"

 _*I was wondering when you would ask that_. They step back, and flash Frisk a grin.

They smile in return. Seeing their partner in a better mood, going through another one-hundred resets didn't seem so bad.

Then a thought crosses their mind, and their smile drops.

Chara notices and frowns. _*What's wrong?_

Before answering, they look around. "Why are we still here?"

It takes seconds for that to sink into them, and when it does, Chara looks around in panic. _*Shit_ _, what now._

"Language."

That is something Frisk always wanted to say. They respect their friend, and know that is rude to change them, but they also don't want to listen to such words.

The problem is, it wasn't Frisk who said that word, and it was all too late to realize there's a presence behind them.

"Greetings, young ones-"

Their partner fades and takes control of their body. A red heart materializes in their chest before Chara dashes several meters away under a second. They spun their body around and summon a red knife in each hand. They glare menacingly as they get into their battle stance.

While Frisk's body had no formal training like Chara's once did, the determination easily exceeds their partner's. The very same that was used to reinforce their body to dodge attacks, or have the energy to last through endless waves of attacks from Sans.

Both are surprised by the monster they're facing.

What they first identify him as is a black gooey mass, almost as tall as Papyrus. The white outline that surrounds him is the reason they know his shape against the black background. Chara comments how they feel like a regular monster.

To add to the strangeness, he has two skeletal hands attached to the mass with a hole in each. And an oval skull with a crack running down his left socket and upwards on his right.

 _Another skeleton_ , Frisk comments through their link. _I thought Sans and Papyrus were the only ones._

 _*He's also the problem. "Why are you keeping me here?"_ Chara orders through Frisk.

Frisk almost reprimands them for the unnecessary aggression, but when they realize it's just the monster and them, being cautious isn't the bad option – though, in their opinion, Chara could do without the knifes.

The skeleton opens his hands and raises them in surrender. "I didn't come to hurt you Demon, nor the Angel."

To say the two kids are confused by the titles is an understatement. Frisk knows about the monsters' legend of how an Angel would free them one day, but they always thought it referred to Asriel since he broke the barrier.

Chara is the first to snap back into focus. _"Fine, you know about us. Now_ _ **tell us**_ _why we're here."_ The 'or else' is heavily implied.

But much to Chara's chagrin, the monster grins. It turns fully crocked and the edges reach its eye sockets. "There's no need for violence. I only wish to offer a solution for the Prince's lack of soul."

This startles Chara. _"Y-You do?"_ It's rare to hear apprehension in their partner's tone.

Frisk resumes control of their body, softening their features and narrowing their eyes before their normal color returned. The knifes vanish before dropping the stance. "How?" they ask the question their partner is dreading, for Chara doesn't know what the skeleton wants in return. The human on the other hand knows this is their only _real_ option.

The skeleton lowers his hands, and…shifts(?) himself towards them. "I will give you what you searched throughout the timelines – one-hundred forty-six to be exact."

Now it's Frisk's turn to be startled as cold invades their veins.

 _Does he know_? The thought of his sins being known is terrifying.

"I've seen how you freed the monsters as well as murdered them." Chara readies their magic, prepared to act at a moment's notice. "As you were about to complete genocide, all I could do was close my eyes and wait till eternal nothingness consumed me. Imagine my relief when I felt a reset." He stops about a meter away. Frisk's hands are clenched into a fist, knifes ready to be summoned.

They would usually sooth Chara by now, but they're currently maintaining their emotions in check as well as their professional poker face.

"You surprise me, Angel. Your determination might exceed even the Red Mage that sealed our kind, and it only grew stronger throughout your journey and resets. But you shouldn't waste it on a pointless goal."

This got a reaction from them both: a scowl from Chara, and a flash of anger passed through Frisk's face. "Saving Asriel isn't pointless," they state with a firm tone.

"It is if there's no benefit."

It takes so much effort to hold Chara back that their body starts to shake, but hearing the skeleton cackle was the last straw. _"You have three seconds to tell us how to save Asriel. Three. Two."_

"Divide your soul."

 _"One!"_ The weapons flare to life, and Chara takes one step before Frisk stops them.

The skeleton watches in silence. His smile dropped to a frown. Seconds pass before he smiles again, but it's less jagged than before. "I know you attempted this with fatal results, but I offer a safer method."

This gets Chara to stop. _"Show us,"_ they say through gritted teeth, no doubt ruining the calm visage Frisk's face held.

What happens next almost breaks Frisk's control. His eyes flare cyan and orange, left and right respectively.

 ***Snap***

Both children cringe at the sudden noise. Then what hovers in their field of vision inside a cyan glow, is the monster's index finger. The glow switches to orange, and the bone stretches, its joints disappearing so it looks like an elongated oval. What follows is the bone curving in the center, and curving again on both ends to end as a-

"Heart," Frisk blinks at the odd choice, but Chara still remains wary.

"You weren't wrong," they start. "half your soul would be enough to maintain the Prince's body indefinitely, but rather than physically separating your heart, just allow your determination to flow into here, and it will work as a container."

"Won't it break?" Frisk wants to believe it will work, but even they have doubts of how a finger can work as a container.

He nods briskly. "A monster can absorb a human soul and vice-versa. This," he gestures to the pseudo-heart, "is a fragment of my soul, so when you fuse with any amount of determination you want to impart, it will effectively turn into the first _hybrid Soul_."

They can tell a tone of intrigue appears in his voice, and that unnerves Frisk and angers Chara.

 _"He's not some lab rat."_

"That's curious. Weren't you the one who suggested murder to obtain information? That counts as experimenting."

Frisk was afraid Chara's killing intent alone would kill the monster. "Will it still be Asriel?" they ask, hoping the answer will appease their partner.

"He lacks a Soul, not a body. Or did you forget your fight against his Hyperdeath form?" It was hard not to remember the godly aura that changed reality on his whim. "His body and mind will always remain the same. I can't predict how his magic will change, but I can only assume it will grow stronger from your determination."

The explanation did better Chara's mood, but not the bitterness left in their heart.

Frisk dissipates the weapons (again) and schools their features. "Thank you, Sir."

"My name is Gaster, little Angel." Frisk wanted to ask why he's calling them that, but the skeleton continues. "Would you mind starting the process? As a personal request, I wish to witness the fusion up close."

They nod, forgetting their question for what's right in front of them: their only chance to save Asriel.

 _*I don't trust this guy, but-dammit!_ Frisk understands their friend's frustration. Gaster could betray and steal the new soul, but the skeleton also caught them by surprise and did not harm them. _*Fine. We'll do this, but we're doing it my way._

Taking control of their left arm, they extend it. _"Give it."_

He chuckles, but drifts the heart over. When the glow ends, Frisk can feel the state of the heart. It radiates low amounts of energy, but it's stale, not brimming with life like a monster's.

 _*Blank slate_ , Chara murmurs before raising their right hand. _Frisk, I need you to focus on powering your soul. I will do the transfer._

 _Have you done this before?_

 _*No. That's why I want you to focus on your part, and I will keep your soul from fusing. Ready?_

They nod, and at Chara's signal, concentrates on their determination. A red heart materializes over their palm, and immediately they feel a drain.

 **[~*~]**

Tired.

That's all Frisk is sure at the moment. They know they have to get up, but for what, they can't remember.

 _*Frisk, wake up!_

They flinch at the noise, and grunts in hopes that whoever is talking would let them sleep longer.

 _*Come on, Partner. You can sleep later. Right now we have to get to Asriel._

 _Asriel_. Their head bobs to the side. Awareness begins to creep in, but so does fear as they realize how defenseless they are. What they last remember is being in the nothingness with a monster they don't fully know.

 _*Frisk, relax. You're fi…you're not hurt_. They want to ask about the pause, but remains calm knowing their partner will keep them safe.

 _What happened?_

 _*You…fainted at the end. I-I should have noticed how tired you were getting_. Their voice cracks. * _You almost died because of me and I-_

Now it's Frisk's turn to panic, jolting to a sitting position. What they first see is darkness. Their first thought is the void, but dismisses this as light comes from above. Looking up, they see the faint rays of sunshine leaking through a hole. Looking down, they see a circular patch of grass. _This is where I met Flowey_ , and the first time they were wounded via 'friendliness pellets'.

 _*You were down for a long time._ To their right, Chara is down on their knees, eyes fixed on the ground. * _I did the whole routine: talk with everyone, travel back and talk to every monster. It all went well, but I think the comedian knew it was me._

 _It's okay. I will tell Sans what happened later._ Aside from Flowey/Asriel, Sans is the other monster that knows about the resets, between other things.

Then it clicks to them. Their eyes are wide open! They quickly narrow them and search around for anyone who saw them, only to realize there's no need for it's just the two of them.

They sigh in relief, but remember something that's more important. _Chara, what happened to the soul?_

 _*It worked_ , they seem to have shrunk away. Their hesitance makes Frisk worry. _*We can give it to Asriel, but Frisk…your soul…_ They turn their head to the side. _*Look at it_.

Despite the dread flowing through their bond, Frisk isn't affected by it. To be more precise, their soul seems to resonate against those emotions. So they're more curious than afraid as they raise their hand.

A single thought brings their heart out and, for the second time that day, their eyes widen.

Their red soul, if it can be called that anymore, has shrunken to half its size, and is now surrounded by a second heart composed of the remaining six traits: patience (cyan), integrity (blue), bravery (orange), kindness (green), justice (yellow) and perseverance (purple).

Their mind tells them to be horrified. Their soul, their very _being_ has been changed, and yet, they're calm. It pulses, and they feel a wave of strength and comfort filling their body.

Their eyelids lower, and look at their friend with a sincere smile. "Chara, it's okay. I'm fine."

That was apparently the wrong response, because they snap their head in their direction, eyes shedding tears that can't be seen but felt. _*NO Frisk! You're not fine! You almost died and that_ _ **freak**_ _did something to your Soul_! _Because of me, you lost your ability to Load!_

They don't allow their smile to falter, for that would only worsen Chara's fears. "We knew it wouldn't be easy, but if this is the only way to save Asriel, then I don't mind."

 _*You-you really don't_? They flinch as if knowing Frisk's answer will be reproaching.

"I don't." They rise to their feet, and extend a hand towards them. Chara only looks at the gesture in disbelief. "Let's go tell our brother the good news."

They raise their hand but stop mid-way.

"It's okay." Those red eyes shift to theirs. "It's still me. Isn't that what matters?"

Chara looks at them as if they're meeting for the first time. Then they laugh, but Frisk finds it worrying that they're feeling both relieved and unease, _*You changed._

"I don't feel different," they reply, but their smile dipped a little.

 _*Maybe you can't, and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing._ Their emotions settled down to the hopeful side as they clasp Frisk's hand, and they help raise their partner. _*I'm not fine with this, but Asriel is waiting for us_.

They nod, silently agreeing to leave this conversation for later.

They walk hand in hand to an archway, but as they pass, a sense of finality hits Frisk. Their heart beats faster as they walk down the corridor. _We're actually going to do this. No more resets_. The thought of never repeating their adventure brings them a peace of mind, and when they finally reach the small room with the golden flower bed, their heart swells with so much joy they think it's gonna burst.

"ASRIEL!"

The goat monster, in his green-yellow stripped shirt and brown shorts, jumps in place. He turns around, eyes wide and hands raised to his chest. When their eyes meet, realization flashes in his eyes. His paws move down, and he offers a timid smile. "Golly Frisk, you scared me, but I'm glad you're here-whoa, wait!"

Frisk just couldn't wait any longer. They dashed over to the boss monster and tackles him into a hug. He manages to keep them from falling and embraces back.

"Fr-Frisk! What are you doing?!"

Frisk, after a quick cheek-to-fur nuzzle, pulls back with their hands still around the monster. They see his cheeks are tinted red, and realize this is the first time they see him flustered. They would tease him, but they have good news to deliver, "I'm bringing you to the surface."

The goat losses the blush, and now looks horrified, "Frisk, you can't do that! I-I'm going to turn into Flowey soon-"

A finger placed on his lips stop him. A red hue on his cheeks reappears, "You won't."

They step back, and take out their phone and open their dimensional box. There is one item that stood out: Fused Soul.

It's hard to believe this is it, but they're glad it's over. Pressing the Use button, the soul appears in front of them.

After seeing the changes of their Soul, Frisk isn't shocked by the appearance, but Asriel is staring at it slack-jawed, "Frisk, how…where did you get this."

At this, they freeze. Frisk never thought of how to explain this to Asriel. How they had given up their power to control time to make him a heart. If they told him, he would most likely refuse and then blame themselves for abandoning that power. In a way, he and Chara are alike.

They know it's the wrong choice, but they will avoid the topic for now. After putting the phone away, they move their hand under the heart, letting it hover above as they move it closer to the boss monster.

The red heart has a clean shine, and at its center is a small white heart – not upside down like a boss monster's. It appears mundane in comparison to Frisk's, but they can feel the power in it. Unbridled and directionless, they know it will change once Asriel takes it. Not once thinking of how he could abuse the power, for Flowey was cruel, he shows compassion. They learned that much about him when meeting him back in the first pacifist timeline.

"Asriel." This gets his attention. "Now we can go the surface together."

Instead of crying in joy like they expect, he looks at the ground in guilt. "Frisk, I-I can't…" This causes the human to frown. "I mean, is it alright for me to have that? I…I killed everyone as Flowey. What if-what if I do it again?"

Now they understand. Unfortunately they do because it's a feeling they don't wish to know. Their free hand closes into a fist, and the feeling of dust between their fingers claws at their happiness.

A hand on their shoulder snaps them back to reality. On their side, Chara is looking at them with the concern Frisk usually gives.

They smile warmly at them, and mouth, 'thank you,' before facing Asriel. "Nobody can blame you for that. You were soulless, and…you're not the only one who murdered."

His eyes lock onto theirs. "Frisk." It's almost a whisper, but it is enough to convey his sympathy.

"I wish I could forget about it. Tell myself they're nightmares, but it happened, and resets don't take the dust away. So that's why…" They stop, waiting for the knot in his throat to loosen. "That's why I want to go to the surface. I don't know how useful I will be, but I want my friends to have a happy life there." Frisk knows it won't be easy to build peace between humans and monsters, but they're not someone who gives up when facing the impossible. "We can both make up for our mistakes." Even if it takes their entire life, Frisk will pay for their sins somehow. "So…" The soul in their hand glows. "Let's go with Mom and Dad to the surface. We can live as a family while we do our part."

Without intending to, Asriel looks like he's about to cry, but that shaky smile is worth it. "Okay, Frisk." He wipes the tears with a sleeve. "I will go with you." He moves his paws next to the soul, and a red flash covers them both.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this was a ride of itself. Just trying to make everything flow right was a challenge. Had to move paragraphs around and shorten or add information where it was needed.**

 **And don't worry, next chapter we will be seeing plenty of the DxD cast, and that's going to be fun to write. So as you wait, please fill free to leave a review, any questions or suggestions you might have.**

 **And as for what happened to Frisk, I will leave that till much later, because this isn't the last we will see of Gaster.**

 **P.S. I will thank my good friend Tapp for fixing the grammar where it was needed :D Without him, this chapter would have several mistakes.**

 **P.S. (5/26/2018) Minor grammar changes and a few modified sentences. Extra additions at the beginning.**


	2. A Much Needed Reunion (Part 1)

_Frisk_ \- Thinking/Flashback

[~*~] – time change

"Frisk" - Dialogue

 _"Frisk"_ / _*Frisk_ – Chara talking through Frisk/mentally communicating to Frisk

* * *

The walk back to New Home was an interesting one, and on hindsight, they should've known it was going to happen. Asriel died over one-hundred years ago, but most monsters still remember him.

When they caught sight of him, their first reaction were wide eyes and mouths hanging open in shock. Seconds passed before they bowed and greeted, "Your Highness", "Prince", or, "you're alive!"

Poor Asriel was flustered and had to look to the ground every time someone spoke. He always greeted back, but Frisk had to pull them by his paw or he would've stood there, unsure what else to say.

From there, the monsters showered them with greetings, and the Royal Guards went as far as to kneel in front of him. No one questioned how he came back to life, even though a few quietly speculated that The Angel must've done it.

But that's all behind them, yet they're still holding onto the goat monster as they walk through the Judgement Hall. The external lights coming from the windows should be warm and inviting, but the deafening silence of the room makes Frisk feel like they're walking towards the guillotine in broad daylight. Passing shadows cast by pillars puts them at an edge. Because when they enter the light again, they imagine Sans has appeared, ready to judge them for their sins.

Frisk vividly remember dashing around this wide hallway, dodging bones that sprung from the ground and avoiding lasers from monstrous skulls. Or feeling the weight of the dust that clung to them like a second skin, and agonizing over Sans' specialty, Karmic Retribution, eating at their body like acid before killing them.

"Frisk?" His voice pulls them back to reality. Turning their head, they see Asriel looking back with concern. His face softens before flashing a timid smile. "We're going to be with Mom and Dad soon."

At first, Frisk is surprised, but refrains from showing it. They're thankful he wants to comfort them, but also ashamed they're reliving bad memories. Asriel is about to reunite with his parents!

They smile back and focus on how soft Ariel's paws are. "Do you know what you're going to tell them?"

His eyes move downward before focusing ahead. "I… no, I don't." He doesn't frown, but looks anxious and happy. "I've been thinking, but I don't know where to start."

The human grunts in agreement. They shift their gaze back ahead. The exit isn't far.

Considering Asriel's situation, Frisk doubts there's a correct way for the goat monster. So all they can suggest is, "you will know when you see them." No amount of practice is going to help when emotions run high.

From the corner of their eye, they see Asriel nodding, but as they're about to exit the room, his grip tightens.

Seeing him tense, Frisk starts rubbing their thumb over his fur in a circular motion. He sighs, and his shoulders move down. In the dull-gray hallway, he speaks again in a meek voice. "Thanks. I-I guess I'm pretty nervous."

Frisk nods. Even they are starting to feel it, so their free hand goes to a spot below their neck. Their fingers prod the golden heart-shaped necklace underneath their sweater. While Chara finds comfort in the handle of a weapon, Frisk finds it in the item their partner holds so much sentimental value over. Originally a gift from Asriel to Chara, the human is touched they're allowed to wear it.

Beyond an intersection is a room where seven caskets lie. Six dead children were inside, but after the barrier fell, they, along with their souls, vanished.

On the left is a rocky walkway that leads up, and the end is where their parents and the rest of their friends are.

They take a left, but Frisk's mind wanders to the six dead children. _Did the fragments come from them?_ That line of thinking only brings more questions: how did Gaster get his hands on them? Did he damage them? And who was the skeleton? Frisk had searched endlessly through the Underground, and yet, this is the first time they hear the name Gaster. Did they? After all the resets, they can't remember. They learned so much that some things were a blur. It's likely they heard or read his name, but didn't put too much importance to it as it had no use in helping Asriel.

However, much like the inevitable explanation of their soul's new state, it will be for later.

They are halfway up, and Frisk looks at their friend to see how he's holding up. They notice his chest rising in and out faster, but his eyes remain entirely focused on what's ahead.

Frisk gently squeezes his hand as the last sign of assurance. The gesture is promptly returned.

Then Sans' voice echoes down. "-tibia honest, I knew it wasn't going to be humorous, but that's no reason to get your bones all rattled up."

"SAAAAANS! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MONUMENTAL MOMENT! YOUR PUNS ARE DEFINITELY! NOT! ALLOWED!" And that's Papyrus' voice echoing all the way down. The silence and the close space amplifies everyone's voices. "SEE, YOU EVEN HAVE ASGORE'S CLONE CRYING." Except for Papyrus's voice, his default is a megaphone.

"That's right. *Pft* ha ha! Your jokes are falling short." And that's Toriel. Despite the puns, Asriel looks ready to cry with a wide smile adorning his features.

"you're right tori. papyrus is a skeleton of high standards." Their mother's snort is followed by laughter.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOUR CORRUPTIONS HAVE SPREAD TOO FAR, BROTHER!"

"Come on, you're smiling."

"I AM, AND I HATE IT!"

Unless they want to ruin the surprise, Frisk had to hold back a chuckle during the entire comedy routine, but Asriel, despite smiling, cringed at every pun.

Then he speaks in a low voice. "I don't get why she loves puns so much."

And at that, Frisk attacks. "It's because they're very _punny_."

He cringes, yet his smile holds. "Frisk, that was terrible."

They nod and are glad all his previous tension is gone.

Once they take the last steps, Frisk and Asriel are introduced to a normal scene.

Mom, Sans, and Papyrus are the closest to the center. The ex-queen is wearing a purple robe with long white sleeves, and on the front is the Delta Rune symbol – white wings with a circle on the circle-and below are three triangles with the middle one further below and upside-down. She is rubbing tears from her eyes. Her laughter turns into snickers as her shoulders began to shake.

Papyrus the skeleton is standing tall and proud, actually taller than the boss monster. He has his trademark armor: a white chest plate traveling around his upper body, basketball like shoulder guards of the same color, a red scarf around his neck, blue metal underwear that stays in place, red boots and finally red gloves. His toothy smile is perpetual like his brother's, but despite the narrowed annoyance in his eye sockets, Frisk can tell he's enjoying himself.

Sans, barely taller than the kids, is wearing a blue hoodie with a white shirt underneath, black shorts and pink slippers. His hands are in his jacket's pockets, and against all logic, his eye socket closes to wink at his brother.

A little more to the right are the last three monsters.

Asgore can be considered a giant for his broad size rather than his height. He has golden shoulder guards, a purple cape that covers most of his body with a golden suit of armor underneath. Golden hair jumbles up with his beard.

In battle, he brought a level of fear and intimidation that not even Undyne could bring, but outside, he carries a calm demeanor.

Right now the King is speaking with the ex-head of the Royal Guard. "Have humans really changed that much?"

Undyne gives a fanged grin. She's a humanoid fish warrior, currently wearing red shoes, blue jeans, and a black tanktop. Her skin is covered in aquamarine scales, the entirety of her right eye is yellow with the exception of a black, slit pupil. She wears a red eyeshadow, and her left eye is covered with an eyepatch. A fin of red and blue protrude from the sides of her head, and a long red ponytail reaches to her mid-back.

She has a thin appearance that's deceptively weak, but Frisk personally knows how strong the boulder-suplex-fish warrior is. "I'm telling you, Alphys's documentaries are the best! Isn't that right, Alphys?"

Next to her is a chubby, yellow lizard monster. She's hunched over, just a head short of reaching Undyne's shoulders, wearing a white lab coat and round glasses. The scientist is starting to sweat while tapping together her stubby fingers. "Y-Yeah, my hu-human documentaries are p-precise."

Frisk almost forgot about that particular argument. In this timeline, they told Undyne that the anime Alphys' 'documentaries' is real. It's a shame it isn't; a world of magical girls and people who can wield giant swords would be perfect for the monsters.

They take a moment to admire the puns, the laughter, the tranquility, and to realize how perfect all of this is. A family is all Frisk ever dreamed of before falling into the Underground, and now they have a brother to share it with.

Asriel's eyes move between his Mom and Dad. A single tear roll on his cheek as his mouth opens and closes.

They let go of his hand, places theirs on his back and gently pushes him. He offers no resistance.

His steps are slow and shaky, not daring to cause a single sound, but the entire mood of the room changes when Mom's eyes drift towards them.

Her smile drops and she blinks a couple of times. She wipes the tears off furiously before looking at Asriel straight in the eyes. Her eyes widened, and her lips become a thin line.

Sans is the first to notice. "Something wrong, Toriel?" When she doesn't answer, his beady eyes follow her line of sight, and they vanish. His smile strains and his posture becomes rigid.

The human is unsure if Sans knows Asriel was Flowey, and if he does, they hope he doesn't do anything rash.

The last skeleton looks confused before he too turns to look at the young monster. He smiles widely, not reading the tone shift. "WOWEE, NOW WE HAVE A CHIBI VERSION OF ASGORE'S CLONE!" His voice gets the other group's attention.

When Undyne's gaze locks on the monster, she frowns, and her eye narrows in concentration. "Hey, Asgore, isn't that-"

A yellow hand grasps her scaly one. She stops to look down at Alphys, who has a hand covering her mouth while staring at the King. Undyne looks up, and she shuts her lips tight. Eye widened at the state of her King.

Asgore has a joyful smile. The next second he look like he's in grief. His eyes shine with hope, and his lips part slightly wanting to say something. He looks haunted by something only he can see.

Frisk never put into thought of how their parents would react, so they stay still, not wanting to ruin this moment. And they're happy to see Asgore stepping forward.

"Asriel… son, is that you?" His voice is shaky, filled with uncertainty, yet smiling, eyes brimming with tears. Mom also steps forward. Her hands are shaking, and she's biting her lip as tears freely fall out.

The young monster has managed to hold most of his tears back despite looking ready to cry his heart out. "Mom, Dad, I *Hic* I…!"

He bolts forward, and his parents do the same. Midway, Mom drops to her knees and welcomes her son in a tight embrace.

His face is buried in her neck, and Mom has her chin set over his head. Asgore also goes down to his knees next to her, his huge arms surrounding the family he thought he'd lost and pulling them to his chest.

The restraints fall off, and the Dreemurr family starts crying to their souls' content.

Mom has her eyes shut and starts rubbing the back of her son's head. Asgore is wearing a serene smile as his eyes reflect the love for his family, and while Frisk can't see Asriel's face, his arms are shaking from the force he's applying.

No words are shared, but none are needed. This is something Frisk understands. Many times, Chara's presence reminded them they're not alone.

 _*Frisk._ They hum to show they're listening, and Chara's voice is the softest they ever heard from them. _*Thank you._ The human feels their heart swell as their partner's tears run down their cheeks. _*Thank you_. Their throat tightens from what should be the hoarse voice of their partner's. _*Thank you_. They feel Chara hugging them from the side. The ghost's face press on their shoulder. Muffled "thank you" are repeated over and over.

Knowing that their friends are watching, Frisk places one hand over their partner's and gently tightens it.

"so, kid," Sans voice suddenly comes next to them, but they're so joyful that they're not startled. "You are the one who brought the billy back from the dust." It was more of a statement than a question, but Frisk still nods as they wipe the tears.

"OF COURSE THEY DID, SANS!" Unlike his shorter brother, Papyrus' footsteps can be heard. "AS SOMEONE WHO AIMS TO BE AS GREAT AS ME, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM!" The human wipes the last of their tears off, and turn to see him standing next to his brother, fists on his hips, eyes closed with a proud smile.

"i'm pretty sure reviving death is impossible," he counters in his laid-back tone.

Papyrus opens his eyes and looks confused. "WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT!?"

"about the billy, the king, and tori hugging." With his head, he motions towards the Dreemurrs. Despite Papyrus' 'yell', they haven't budged from their spot.

"ASGORE'S CHIBI CLONE!?"

"that's the one."

 ***Gasp*** His eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, and his jaw becomes ajar. "YOU'RE TELLING ME CHIBI ASGORE IS ASGORE'S AND ASGORE CLONE'S SON!?"

By now, Chara steps back after getting a reign on their emotions. The ghost is sporting a relaxed smile as they watch things play out.

Another set of footsteps come from the other side, and Undyne slides to a stop next to Papyrus before wrapping an arm around his neck. He's pulled down and then assaulted by her knuckles rubbing on his head. "Papyrus! You knucklehead!" she grins.

He struggles to break out. "PLEASE DON'T NUGGY THE SKELETON!"

"Then stop asking questions and enjoy this! Just look at Alphys!"

The yellow lizard is now standing closer, facing the emotional scene with a twinkle in her eye. Her giggles are half restrained as she plays with her claws.

"How're you handling it, Alphys!"

Instead of answering, she says, probably without realization, "ToreyGorey it is then."

Frisk manages to hold their own giggles back, and although they approve of Mom's and Asgore's shipping name, they doubt they will be getting together anytime soon. Mom has a century's worth of resentment and anger against Asgore for declaring war against humanity and… the death of six children, but they trust Alphys will work it out in her fanfiction.

"kid," Sans speaks in a low voice. He's standing next to them, and his back to the other two. The short skeleton is staring at them from the corner of their eyes. "you're gonna explain this some time, right?"

They nod and are grateful that Sans decided to leave this for later. Mom and Asgore are going through an emotional roller coaster. They don't need to go through more when there are other important things to do.

Frisk's face twitches. Internally, they frown at the growing list of "to do later", but despite knowing it's best to do it soon, they're also dreading when the time comes. What will his family think about their new soul? Chara was freaking out over it. As for not being able to load and reset anymore, Sans should be happy, right? It was in the… genocide timeline the skeleton told them that resets caused him to lose interest in _everything_ – except for his brother – puns and Mom. Thankfully the skeleton believed it was Frisk's fault, so maybe that will help him get a positive outlook on life? But the conversation Frisk is most scared of having is with Asriel. They can't let him know how many resets they went through for him, or how they almost died when obtaining their new soul. And how will he take it that they lost their time powers-?

 _*Frisk_. The human prevents themselves from jolting. _*Hey, we… we will think of something. I mean, saving Asriel was the hardest part. Everything else should be easy._ For a moment, they believe their partner's words, but the harsh reality sets in.

 _What about the humans?_ They want to believe everything will be alright, that all their problems will be solved, but they're not the same optimistic kid that completed the first pacifistic timeline. They know how difficult it is to complete the impossible. Building peace between monsters and humans will be even more so.

"HUMAN!" Frisk raises their head to meet Papyrus' gaze. He's crouched down. The corners of his smile are dipped down in concern. "I'VE BEEN CALLING YOU, BUT YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED! IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

The human nearly grimaces from their mistake, but smiles for him. "Sorry, I'm just tired." But Papyrus doesn't believe them. They know this because it takes him seconds to reply.

He smiles like his usual self. "IF YOU SAY SO!" Then his arms reach out towards them. Frisk is confused as he wraps them around his waist. They're lifted, turned around and placed on his shoulder. "BUT UNTIL YOU GET BETTER, YOU'RE WELCOME TO REST THERE AS LONG AS YOU WANT!"

At first, Frisk wants to protest, but their body betrays them. ***Yaaaaawn*** Had they always been this tired? Granted, Chara made them walk all the way to the start, rested a little before walking all the way back. On second thought, maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Their body is starting to feel heavy and their legs sore.

Frisk gives a tired nod.

Then Papyrus wobbles, almost dropping them, as the skeleton is raised and placed on the shoulder of the fish lady. By her tone, Frisk can tell she has a toothy grin. "What are you saying Paps? Of course, the little Punk is alright. And if he isn't, then an extra cooking session should do just the trick. What do you say, Punk?"

"Yes!" they answer immediately. No matter how many times they repeated the activity, Frisk always found it fun to do. It must be because they just… let loose and break the law of common sense as they cook Undyne style.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH! PREPARE HUMAN, FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SHOW YOU HOW A TRUE MASTER CHEF COOKS!"

Their smile becomes more genuine as they ponder on the idea. _I've never cooked with Papyrus before_. The realization has them nodding eagerly, and Papyrus squeals in delight as sparkles cover his eyes.

 _*See, Frisk? This is why I like monsters over humans. Even if it's silly, they will do it to make you feel better_. They concede to their partner's point. _*So quit worrying. They will freak out when you tell them. That's just-you know…_ Their partner's blush appears on them. _*That's our family._

This gives Frisk pause. For so long, they heard that word passed around the kids in the orphanage and seen most leave with a new family. This is the first time they hear somebody else tell it to them and not refer to it as an insult. Their heart flutters.

 _A family_ , they think in a daze. The redness on their cheeks fades off as they feel Chara's smug smile.

 _*And I hereby dub you, Frisk Dreemurr_.

That almost got them to raise their eyelids in reflex. _Frisk…Dreemurr._ Their heart skips a beat. Then in a low voice they say, "Frisk Dreemurr." Frisk loves how the name rolls off their tongue so naturally.

"My child." Their mother's voice snaps them to reality. Only now do they notice how high they are. Their mom has to raise her head to look at them.

From up there, they see Asriel and Asgore staying behind. The king is on his knees, rubbing the head of his son. He's wearing a tired, but serene smile. Asgore is saying something, and Asriel nods with that cheerful smile of his. Both have shiny fur on their cheeks, due to the tears.

Their mother is pretty much the same. She lowers her head. "Undyne, could you put Papyrus down? I wish to speak with my child."

"Sure, your Highness!"

 ***Sigh*** "Toriel is fine-"

But the fish warrior puts them down before she can finish. Then Papyrus turns so the human and the ex-queen face each other.

"SORRY, ASGORE'S CLONE, BUT I HAVE TO HOLD ONTO THE HUMAN BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY TIRED."

"don't you mean _bone-tired_?"

"SANS!" Papyrus has that hate/love smile.

As for Frisk and their mom, they chuckle in appreciation.

"R-right." They take a moment to compose themselves. "Frisk." That gets them to stop. They've never told anyone their name except for Asriel. They look at their mom with surprise. "Asriel told me," she clarifies. "He also told me other things."

They nod, paying closer attention than before.

"He told me you saved them." Her soft voice calms them down. She's looking at them with a type of fondness they can't quite place. "Is that true?" Frisk isn't sure why their mother wants confirmation, but they nod either way. Her smile seems to radiate more. "My child!"

As her paws move toward them, Frisk remember where they've seen it. It's after the parents signed the papers and walked out the main doors; Frisk caught glimpses through the windows, but this is something they will never forget: a mother's love. While Frisk always thought of Toriel as their mother, they quickly learned the difference between a mother and a caretaker, and she took the role of the latter. Much like she did for the other six children.

They're picked up with such gentleness it surprises them, and soon their cheek is pressed onto her neck. It tickles briefly, and as Toriel places one paw behind their head and the other on their back to hold them, Frisk feels safe.

Their arms circle around her neck with a tight grip, not willing to let go of that feeling. "I love you… Mom."

They hear her gasp before tightening her hold. "I love you too, my child."

Those last two words, Frisk has heard her say countless times, but now they were spoken with a different sentiment, almost as if… she truly means they're _her_ child.

A new set of tears roll down their cheeks, all belonging to Frisk. They push their face deeper into her neck, basking in the warmth and safety their mother provides.

They hear the sound of others talking, but ignores it. They can vaguely tell their mom is moving as their tears come to an end.

"Frisk." That's their mother, but they keep their face where it is, even if it's damp. "My child, Asgore wishes to ask you something."

Reluctantly, they pull away. They don't know what question he has, but it must be important if Toriel is insisting. They rub their eyes, and they're now cradled in mom's arm. This position is very tempting to fall asleep.

"Howdy, Frisk," Asgore's voice snaps them awake. They move their arm down, and see that the Monster's eyes are red and puffy, but he's smiling. Asriel is right next to him, holding his hand. "We've been discussing a few things of what we will do when we travel to the surface, and we all agreed that..." They stay silent and wait. The King closes his eyes briefly before speaking with more resolve. "Frisk, would you accept becoming our ambassador?"

"Huh?" they voice out their surprise. Even Chara feels the same way.

"When monsters make themselves known to humans, I'm sure that most will be scared of our kind." His smile dips down a little as he breaks eye contact. When their eyes reconnect, he's no longer smiling, and his eyes gain a somber look. "You already did so much for us, but-"

"Yes!" After the initial shock wore down, they didn't hesitate. This is exactly what they wanted – a way to help. They can tell their partner isn't as excited as they are, because now Frisk will have to interact with adult humans more often.

Asgore's smile returns and Asriel laughs. "See, Dad. I told you Frisk was going to say 'yes'."

He nods, content written in his face.

"My child." Frisk turns to their mother, who's giving them a concerned look. "Please think this through carefully. I don't want you to accept out of pressure." she shots Asgore a 'mommy glare', which makes the King downcast with guilt. "Papyrus would be more than willing to accept the role as ambassador."

"But I want to do it!" Then they add with a smile, "if it helps everyone, then I want to be the ambassador."

She looks surprised before her expression softens. "Just like before, you're set on doing this?" Frisk knows they're talking about the time they decided to leave the Ruins to continue their adventure – instead of staying inside the safety of their home abandoning all hope exiting. They nod. "Just like before, I will push my fears aside for you, but now, you won't be doing this alone."

They almost correct her, but Chara doesn't seem to mind. In fact, they feel happy.

Toriel turns so they can see the rest of their friends.

Undyne has already hoisted Alphys to her with an arm around her waist. The scientist is sporting a large blush along with a dazed smile, and the ex-captain is looking at everyone with a glint in her eye as well as an eager grin. "If we're done with all the mushy talk, Alphys and I are going to be THE FIRST ONES TO SEE THE SURFACE! SEE YA LATER NERDS!" She leaves as she dashes towards the pathway leading upwards, leaving behind a cloud of dust all the while laughing, "NGHAHAHAHAHA!"

"BROTHER." Papyrus turns to their brother with a panicked look. "WE MUST HURRY BEFORE UNDYNE IS THE FIRST TO SEE EVERYTHING."

"paps, the overworld is much larger than the undergrou-"

Much like the other one, he dashes towards the pathway while picking up a trail of dust.

"heh," Sans shrugs lazily at the remaining monsters and human. "Guess I better follow." Instead of following his brother like a normal monster, he takes the opposite direction.

"Don't worry, Dear," Asgore starts explaining at seeing Toriel's confusion. "He has his shortcuts."

"Uh huh." She shoots him a deadpan look for calling her ' _dear'_.

Realizing his mistake, he starts sweating as his eyes dart around before settling on his Asriel. "Son, are you ready to see the surface?"

"Yes, but…" A faint blush adorns his cheeks as he lowers his head. "I…want to…"

Frisk is confused at why Asriel is acting that way, but when his eyes flicker to theirs, they can't hold back a playful smirk.

"Mom," they start while looking at her. "Could you put me down?" When her worried gaze sets, they remember why they're being carried in the first place. "I'm alright now. I promise."

She consents, albeit reluctantly. They're set down gently, which is something Frisk's legs are grateful for. They can easily hide a wince as they step forward, but not the way their legs shake.

Asriel takes notices and crosses the short distance with a long step. "Frisk!" They're pulled closer as his arms wrap around them. "Why didn't you tell me you were this tired?" And now they feel bad. They wrap their arms around him and mutter a quick apology, but he steps back, and one of his arms pulls back.

Before Frisk could ask him what he's doing, the young boss monster bends down to snake an arm behind their ankles. Recognizing what he will do, they blush and are picked up in a bridal fashion with surprising ease.

"There." His eyes meet theirs, but after a few seconds, he actually smirks as a faint blush grows. "Is the princess comfortable?"

Now Frisk is sure their face is on fire. _No! This isn't supposed to happen!_ It's usually the human that does the flirting, and they wonder if this is how everyone else they did it on feels. The giggling of mom and Asgore only adds to their embarrassment.

"Frisk." His smirk has been replaced by an innocent smile fitting of a kid that hasn't gone through hell a thousands of times. In short, it's pure and radiant. "Thanks for saving me. I…I promise I will make it up to you somehow."

"But you don't have to," they reply softly. As they see he's about to protest, they rest their head on his shoulder. "A family is everything I ever wanted." As cheesy as it sounds, it's the sole truth.

They close their eyes and let themselves be spoiled like a princess.

 **[~*~]**

Undyne had every right to be excited.

Over a hundred resets had made them forget the surface's beauties. The open cool breeze is fair on their skin, the rays of the sunset are like a warm blanket, and Asriel is like a soft bed carrying them.

Their small group is walking on a rocky path leading to the base of the mountain, and instead of feeling apprehensive to face humans again, Frisk is oddly excited to begin their job as ambassador.

They can feel how their soul brightens with vigor… with a strange tugging of sorts. They control their expression in case Asriel is seeing them and focus on that strange feeling.

If they were walking instead of resting in Asriel's arms, they might have missed it. Paying closer attention, they realize the tugging is in six different directions.

 _The six traits._ Frisk tries putting a name to the emotions they're emitting, but it's like hearing people all around them whisper in the same volume. They focus on one trait, but no matter how many seconds pass, that feeling doesn't become clearer. While far from being an expert, with a clear mind they should be able to control the energy in their soul.

They slow the flow of determination in the core, but instead of finding something important, they all quiet down at the same time.

Frisk is confused, but before they try to ignite their determination to see what happens, the human remembers their partner is more knowledgeable than them. _Chara, what do you think that was?_ Being connected to their soul, they should have felt that strange tugging. Yet, there's no reply. _Chara?_ Thinking back, their partner has been strangely quiet for most of the time. They ask again with more distress. _Chara?!_

Their soul stirs. _*What?! Are we being attacked?_ Frisk can tell they're looking around.

 _No, we're fine. I… you got me worried._ That gets their attention. _Where were you?_

They grow agitated. _*I was checking what that freak did to you soul._ Frisk stays silent to allow Chara to continue. _*Your soul is stable, so there's that. As for… the other fragments. Those things are kinda alive._

 _Alive!? Did they tell you anything?_

 _*No! Not that kind of alive, just…_ There's a pause. _*They're a bunch of emotions, nothing else._

 _But I heard them whisper._

Chara shrugs. _*Like I said, a bunch of emotions. I was hearing them too, but I could never understand a single word. I'm guessing they're trying to influence you depending on the trait._ _More like trying._ They snarl _. *Those stupid fragments just don't shut up when I tell them to, so I'm trying to make them listen to you._

Frisk nudges them through their connection to continue.

 _*That skeleton just put the fragments here. They're not even attached to your determination, just acting when it does._ Their next words drip with venom. _*With the shitty job he did, it makes me think he wanted you to suffer._

 _But you said my soul is stable._

 _*Frisk! It's your soul! Your very being and he just_ _ **dumped**_ _all these fragments into you without a care!_

 _But I'm alive and fine, so he must've known what he was doing._

 _ ***Sigh***_ _Frisk, remember how you woke up on the ground?_ The human can't help but feel worried for a second. They mentally nod. _*Well, that was me who woke you up, and that was after I made proper connections with them to your determination. I'm still doing it because the last thing I want is for them to do whatever they want. Like now_. They growl the last part.

Frisk sends waves to comfort them, but Chara stops them.

 _*And then there's what those fragments are doing to you._ They can feel their partner's stare laced with concern for them and anger towards the skeleton. _*You said you can't feel it, but I can. They're changing you, and they're going to keep doing it until I make your determination the leading piece in your soul, but it's going to take me days to finish that!_

They just don't understand why their partner is like this. _But as long as it's me, isn't it fine?_

In a frustrated voice they answer, _*the fact that you aren't freaking out is the reason why I'm doing it._

They ponder about this. Sure, their soul is entirely different now, but there's no notable change to them. _How much have I changed?_ They have to be sure.

 _*Not much, but it's there. Your emotions…they're too strong, and the worse part is that-hey. Something's wrong._

That's all they need to open their eyes slightly.

Asriel is looking ahead with a look of confusion. They turn their head and are unfortunately greeted by the backs of their friends for traveling behind. The other thing they see is the forest.

Toriel is the first to speak before she turns to the tall skeleton. "Papyrus, are you sure about this?"

"OF COURSE, ASGORE'S CLONE!" he says it without turning, and the certainty in his voice is obvious. "THERE ARE HUMANS IN THE MIST WHO HAVE COME TO GREET US!"

Frisk isn't sure where the skeleton is looking at, but they don't see any mist-their eyelids raise as a dense fog starts encroaching from behind the trees. Fog machines come to mind, but it was instantly discarded. But then, what other explanation-

 _*Magic._ Chara answers in a low, steely voice. Focusing on their connection, Frisk can also sense the wall of magic that's appearing from nothing. Not only that, but something about the area suddenly feels off.

Something in their soul tells them to look up, and they listen.

They aren't shocked to see the fog settle over the sky like a blanket. They don't panic when they sense it spreading over a mile. Not when a tug on their soul tells them to analyze it. So when they **[check]** , information starts flooding their mind.

Back in the underground, they used this to see the monsters' stats and catch a brief glimpse of their personalities. On items, he got a line or two of insight, but now they feel as if they're truly seeing for the first time.

 _[Dimension Lost. Also known as "Fog of Extinction". A high-tier Longinus that creates mist as protective veils or to bend the space it surrounds.]_

 _[Balance Breaker: Unlocked.]_

 _[User: Georg. Class Type: Prodigy Magician]_

Frisk is satisfied and files the information for later use. This should've been strange for them, but it feels familiar.

 _*Tsk. That's just what I told you! The fragment of perseverance acted on its own!_

The human nods before focusing on their surroundings.

Their mother approaches with Alphys in tow.

"My children, I will have to ask you to move further back. Alphys will stay with you to ensure you're both safe."

The scientist is playing with her fingers in a nervous fashion, but nods in a resolute, shaky way. "I-I will l-look after them." Though it sounded more like it was to herself than Mom.

Asriel is doing better. The only sign that shows he's shaken is the trembling in his hands.

Today was meant to be a day of celebration for Frisk. Now there's a good chance a confrontation will ensue with these unknown people and their family.

As they're carried further back, they feel all seven fragments pulse and spread waves of energy throughout their fatigued body.

* * *

 **A/N: My beta-reader (Tapp) has finished over a week, but school work has prevented me from doing a few additional changes myself – until now. I'm somewhat disappointed in myself that I have to end it in a cliffhanger, sorry guys, but it was either this, or take much longer and I just wanted to give everyone some prove that this story is not death.**

 **So there you have it guys, the Undertale cast has finally reunited, and they're about to have a nice, long confrontation against a Faction from the DxD cast – I'm sure most of you know who they are.**

 **Please review and give me your thoughts. Did I do a good job with their characterization, or did I butcher them terribly? If anything else, just leave your thoughts about this chapter down below. Those reviews motivate me to keep writing.**

 **Edit (5/28/2018): Few grammar changes.**


	3. A Much Needed Reunion (Part 2)

_Frisk_ \- Thinking/Flashback

[~*~] – time change

"Frisk" - Dialogue

 _"Frisk"_ / _*Frisk_ – Chara talking through Frisk/mentally communicating to Frisk

 _[…]_ – Chara & Frisk's voice overlapping.

* * *

As the fog settles, the monsters form a protective line for the children and Alphys. On one end are the skeleton brothers wearing their iconic smiles, though Sans has his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Undyne has an impassive face, but with eyes narrowed and fists clenched. She's silently cursing her lack of armor. Asgore is wearing a solemn expression with a welcoming smile, but underneath his cape, his paws are curled halfway for summoning his trident. Last is Toriel, looking calm with no other emotion showing.

If magic flowing around the area didn't feel like a cage, they would be relaxed and willing to give the unknown magic users the benefit of the doubt. But as it stands, they are ready for the worst.

"~Aww, look at that, Hera-kun. Fluffy xenomorphs," out of the fog steps out a young teen. She has blonde hair that reaches to her shoulders with two bangs hanging around her face. She has sapphire colored eyes, fair skin, and an energetic smile. She's wearing a short blue dress with long sleeves. A stainless chest plate, metal greaves, and gauntlets act as her upper armor. Greaves are worn over her black leggings. Despite having a katana in hand, she looks much like a knight, "It almost makes onee-san sad that we're going to kill them, but on the bright side, they moved the cute nee-chan out of the fight."

The monsters look surprised – in Undyne's case, angry – at the casual ease she mentions killing them. Even Papyrus gazes at her worriedly.

"That's better for us," next to her steps out a man that's about as tall as Asgore. He has big, sculptured muscles in his arms, and a heavy vest that could've only been custom-made for his size. Pants has signs of wear and tear. His black hair is messy, his eyes are red, and his tan brown. He sets a fist into a palm, cracking the knuckles before smiling savagely, "It would've been annoying to hold back because of a runt."

"We should actually be happy we have come across this opportunity," next to him steps out a young man with jet black hair. He wears a school silver vest with gold linings, and underneath is a long-white sleeved shirt. He has jeans and shoes. He wields a golden lance with a twisted blade. He rests the weapon on his shoulder and a hand on his waist. A casual smile graces his lips as he eyes the monsters with a sharp gaze, "This will be the first time we save an innocent before they meet an ill fate."

Next to him steps out someone who can pass out as a young adult. He has an open black blazer with a white buttoned shirt, black jeans and boots. He has silver spiky hair that ends above his chin and silver eyes that looks at the monsters in a casual manner. The aura from the dark blade he's holding is enough to show his killing intent.

To say the monsters are shocked would be an understatement. Sure, they expect hostility from humans after reaching the surface, but never this soon or in such a manner.

Asgore is the first to recover, but his smile is less than before. "H-Howdy, my name is Asgore, and I believe there's been a misunderstanding."

"Oh," the lancer wielder raises an eyebrow in amusement. "What would that be?"

"Me and my people didn't come to the surface to cause any form of harm. We wish to peacefully co-exist with humans."

But this only causes the human to chuckle in a dismissive fashion. "But there lies the problem."

The King's smile drops as everybody else notices too. Magic is being released from the spear as he moves it parallel to the ground. "You're not the first monsters that want to 'co-exist' with humans."

"WOWIE!" Papyrus smiles brightly. "MONSTERS ARE ALREADY LIVING ON THE SURFACE."

At this the human frowns. Then his smile returns in full force. "Yes. There are millions of monsters living on Earth." The tall skeleton looks like he's about to talk, but the human continues. "Angels, demons, fallen, yokai," and what he sees confirms his suspicion. There is bewilderment on their faces. "All of them are nothing more than parasites for humanity, killing the weak and enslaving the strong." What he does next makes the monsters tense. He wields the weapon diagonally in both hands, legs bend. "That's why heroes like us exist, to ensure humanity's safety."

"Finally!" The giant human clenches his fists as he goes into a stance, followed by the other two.

Undyne bares her teeth in a snarl as she summons a blue-green spear. Toriel's expression turns neutral, palms surrounded in flames. Asgore looks resigned, shoulders slumped at having to fight, but still raises his paws to summon his red trident. Papyrus looks unsure, not scared, yet not liking the idea to fight and thinking of another way to resolve the situation. Sans… hasn't changed his expression, but unnoticed to anyone, blue light comes out of his pockets.

Now both sides wait for the other to make the first move, not willing to get caught in a counter-attack or something worse.

"FRISK!" The scream of a small child breaks the tense atmosphere. No one expected the small human to pass the huge goat monster in a rush, but Asgore was ready to grab Asriel's shoulder before he could move any further. "Dad! Let go!"

The King feels for his son's distress. He looks at Frisk who's standing a few meters ahead. He can hear Alphys behind him apologizing for not stopping them, and at the sides he sees the others ready to advance.

"Stop." His voice was loud and clear throughout the silence. It was enough to get the monsters to look at him in surprise. The heroes are laced with suspicion, and Toriel looks ready to throw a fireball at his face. But this isn't something he's going to back down. "Let's give Frisk a chance."

Papyrus is more than happy for that suggestion, believing the human will do it. Toriel and Undyne look more reluctant, with the former sending him a final glare before focusing on the other humans in case they try to attack Frisk.

She is not the only one that doesn't like the idea, but Asgore still wants to end things peacefully if possible, and if not…there's a reason he survived the war against the mages.

 _*This is a really bad idea and you know it._ They agree whole-heartedly with Chara. Not only are they fighting against fatigue, but their knees are shaking every so often. It's only because their soul is suddenly spreading its power that they managed to get on their own two feet and dash before Asriel could grab them.

 _But still, I want to try_. If they can prevent the fight, it would be the first step to create peace between the two races.

Chara stops them midway.

They look up at the one who spoke the most, assuming he is the leader. The lancer looks down at them with a dull curiosity. They take a moment to regain their breath. "My name…is Frisk, and I'm the ambassador for monsterkind." That last part did a little more than get the heroes' curiosity.

The spearman narrows his eyes as he studies them under a new light. "I'm Cao Cao, leader of the Hero Faction. For what reason are you their ambassador." It sounds more like an order than a question.

A brief silence stretches as Frisk gathers their thoughts. They didn't come up with a full plan, but that has never stopped them before. "Because my friends have been trapped in a jail they didn't belong in, I want to prevent that from happening again." They wanted to say more, but decides they said enough and want to give him a chance to reply.

Cao Cao doesn't show any reaction, his expression controlled and his weapon is hanging idly at his side.

The giant looks irritated as he glares at the monsters behind them. His muscles tighten every so often. The man with the silver hair looks bored, and keeps his stance at ready. The blond woman looks concerned as her gaze shifts from them to their friends.

Before their leader responds, he takes a long look at the other group before asking Frisk, "where's your family?"

They feel a tight knot in their chest. That is something they want to tell their family, but not like this and to a bunch of strangers!

Their soul stirs, and they feel the fragment of kindness pulse stronger than the rest.

A wave of calmness spreads inside them. Their body begins to ache less, and their inner turmoil washes away to a clear mind.

Chara spares a quick glare at the fragment before refocusing on Cao Cao. The **human** that caused Frisk's distress.

"I don't have a family." The words come out easily. "I was raised in an orphanage all my life." They can feel their friends' gazes on them.

Cao Cao regards them silently. Then at last, he sighs. "I understand now." Frisk holds their breath, daring to hope they managed to stop a fight. "These creatures took you in when you had nothing… now I see how you were taken advantage off."

Frisk's passive mask falls for confusion and horror. "Huh?" _*WHAT!_

He looks down at them with pity. "It seems we didn't arrive in time to save you."

Frisk was about to deny it when a blue shroud of light surrounds them, flinging them backwards in the air.

They pass above the King, whose got his trident raised and ready to fight. Frisk is leveled above the ground, and they set their gaze on the one who did this.

"Diplomacy failed, kiddo." The blue light on Sans' hand fades and they're dropped into Alphys' arms.

"S-sorry, Frisk." The human appreciates the gesture, but that doesn't stop them from struggling.

"Alphys, stop! Put me down!" They could reinforce their body, but with their soul acting wildly, they could accidentally hurt their friend, so they didn't.

Frisk continues to struggle as Alphys runs back to where they were standing. Asriel follows close by with a concerned gaze on the human.

They manage to turn around halfway so they can peer over the scientist's shoulder. What they see almost makes Frisk use their soul to break free. Fog gathers on both sides and behind the line of monsters. With unnatural speed, it meets halfway and rises up with equal speed. The only monster who reacts fast enough turns his head in a sharp motion, and for the first time, Frisk sees Sans' perpetual smile drop to a frown.

That's the last they see of him as the fog divides them.

Panic settles in them, stronger than before, and Chara seethes in rage.

"The fog…it cut us off!" They stop and turn to confirm their fears. Frisk feels bad as seeing them take in the sight of a magical wall of dense fog.

They slip from her grasp easily and run towards the wall.

 _*Don't go!_

And they listen. Taking a deep breath, they use their connection to find traces of their family, or lack thereof. No matter how much they focus, Frisk can't sense them. Almost as if they're gone.

The fraction of Kindness resonates again, trying to help the human calm down, but they refuse. They let anger and fear boil in them. What they need is something that can help them locate their family to make sure they're okay. But a killing intent from behind has their thoughts stopped short.

"AAAAAHH!" The cry of rage takes them by surprise, and Frisk sees fireball after fireball hit the wall to no avail. They back away before the fire starts pilling up onto the barrier.

The wave of heat causes them to sweat as they turn around. "Asriel?" The goat monster doesn't seem to hear them.

He swings his arms and throws fireballs without reservation. His eyes are narrowed with a noticeable red glow to them, and tattoo like scars appear from under his eyes down to his cheeks. His killing intent is causing them to shiver, and it's worse to Alphys who's the closest. She takes several steps back and shacking uncontrollably. To the point that Frisk thought she was going to turn to dust.

Asriel stops his assaults and raises both hands up. A white fireball lights up and glows without releasing any form of heat. Frisk recognizes the flame as the same type that Mom used on them, but now it's looking like the size of a house.

 _Gaster said he was going to get stronger, but I didn't think he would be like this._ Frisk is comparing it to the spear from Undyne in her Undying form, but the difference is that Asriel's isn't condense or controlled. The flames are flicking wildly as if there's a storm present, while Undyne's spear would have glowed in concentrated energy.

With another cry, he throws it. The red-yellow flares are extinguished as a powerful gust emanates from the collision.

Frisk raises an arm for protection and keeps his feet firm before the wind reaches them. They hear Alphys let out a short scream proceeded with the sound of her falling on her back.

The white fireballs inches its way further through fog. The human can feel the fog's magic crumbling against Asriel's until more energy around the wall becomes centered on that spot.

The prince's magic loses form and turns into a white sea of flames. It passes harmlessly against the fog before dissipating into nothingness.

Frisk quickly sets their gaze back on their friend. He's panting, hands outstretched from the throw. They notice Alphys getting up, clothes wrinkled but otherwise fine.

The fragment of kindness tries once again to send a soothing flow of energy around their body. Frisk allows it.

They rush over to Asriel.

 ***Ba-Bump***

But are immediately petrified as a cold presence grips their soul. Their knees begin to tremble, and their breathing becomes labored.

The power the soul fragment gave them is dwindling out.

 _*Damn it, Frisk! You're not a coward!_ _Stop acting like one!_ Many would be discouraged with this type of motivation, but Frisk knows it's their partner's way of showing care.

They shake their head, and the fear they felt vanishes. The soothing properties of the green soul return along with a familiar power: determination.

The intent increases to a black miasma around Asriel, but Frisk doesn't waver. When they wrap him in a tight hug, their primal instinct to run is unbearable, but they reign themselves to stay. As they rub his back, it feels like tiny needles are trying to bury into it. The human endures it.

Asriel is shaking. A growl comes from his throat every so often, slowly turning into short tremors. The intimidating aura vanishes. Sobbing is heard moments later. Asriel is shaking for an entirely different reason. The remainder of his killing intent snuffs before he wraps his arms around their waist.

"Why, Frisk?" They pause. "Everything was going so well, so why is this happening to us?"

They don't answer because they have none, and resume the petting.

It pains Frisk and their partner to see him like this, but the human knows he's not the only one.

They turn their head and see Alphys a short distance away. She's no longer shaking as badly as before, but her eyes are filled with apprehension. She opens her mouth, closes it, then shifts her gaze to the ground.

Frisk can't blame her. She did experience a powerful killing intent within a few feet of distance.

"Aww~ that's so sweet."

Their heart skips a beat. Asriel jumps out of their hold, and they hear Alphys gasp. The blond knight steps out between some trees on the far side. Her katana hanging lazily on her side as she flashes the three a wide smile. "It almost makes onee-san sad that I have to kill the fluffy monster too."

A spike of anger comes from both Frisk and Chara. They step forward, ignoring their aching muscles in favor of spreading more power from their soul.

Under better circumstances they would try to talk to her to end things peacefully. If they still had their **[Save/Load]** , they would simply travel back in time to convince Cao Cao that monsters aren't a threat, but they don't have those options anymore. And most importantly, these _**humans**_ are trying to hurt their new family. Their hands clench into fists as their partner's anger overwhelms their tranquility.

They exchange no words because they have been in this situation more times than Frisk wants to admit, but at least after those timelines, their teamwork has developed to the point where they can fight as if they were one.

"Frisk! Don't!" Asriel shouts.

They bend their knees and dash before their brother could stop them. Knifes form in their hands and-

Something's wrong.

Where they should've cleared the distance, they're barely crossed half, and their soul, while providing power, is not giving enough despite the wild fluctuations.

The knight has already dashed. She reappears before them, her katana already in mid-swing by the time Frisk noticed. Chara brings up the knives to block.

 ***Crack***

They gasp at the condition of their weapons. It's not the lines of cracks running on the blades that gets both of them, but the red they're so used to is now marred with colors from other traits. It's like a three-year-old had access to paint and decides to use their hands to recolor their weapons.

"Nice weapons, but looking at your face, onee-san thinks they're not supposed to be like that. Oh well! Good news for onee-san then!"

"Get away from Frisk!" Asriel's angry shout causes her to frown before her smile returns.

"Give onee-san o~ne second."

The knight's energy spikes, making Frisk believe they're about to be overwhelmed by a widespread spell. Instead, it converges far behind them. It's followed by the sound of steel striking earth. A green light washes over them.

"Now we can have as much time as we want."

Finally snapping out of their stupor, Frisk and Chara push the sword back, jumping to the side.

The blond knight doesn't press for an attack. Which is a blessing for Frisk as something caught their eye.

A dome…a large emerald colored dome surrounds them. Nothing can be seen through and Asriel's screams of their name cannot be heard. But it's coming from somewhere, and they trace the energy to two swords stabbed on the ground. The first has a leather handle and a gold guard with a circular shape that connects to the pommel. The blade itself has several white diamonds encrusted from top to bottom, and the glow from the diamonds reach the sword next to it.

Its handle is pitch black in color. The guard is composed of crystals in an irregular circle formation, and the blade is made of green scales

" **[Project Casting]** and **[Diamond Scales]** "

The hero's voice grabs their attention. She is sporting an eager smile. "I made the first one to replace the need for runes because there's nothing more annoying than having to learn the ins and outs of Norse Magic. The second I made after fighting against a dragon with very pretty green scales. It was really hard to put down too." Frisk pauses at this. "But hey, that's what dragonslayer swords are for."

The casualness in her voice unnerves them, but…

 ***Ba-Bump***

Her cocky attitude starts a fire in their soul. Frisk grips their weapons tighter, and they allow a glare to manifest. _How can she smile and say she killed someone!?_ ***How dare she look down on us!** Their weapons begin shining from the state of their emotions, and on their chest, they feel their rainbow heart materialize.

The blonde knight let out an, "ooo~h, pretty," and continued, "but that isn't a Sacred Gear. Mind telling onee-san what it is?"

"Shut up." Their partner is the only that's stunned by the venom in their voice. _Chara,_ they tense. _Let's not hold back. Okay?_

Jeanne holds her katana in front as the ghost responds, _*this is exactly what I was saying about those fragments changing you._ They smirk. _*But I am liking this new side of you._ _Alright partner! Let's do this._

And with that, they dash towards their cheerful opponent.

Jeanne's katana cuts through the air in a silver flash, but Chara's knife intercepts it, pushing it to the side so Frisk can get closer to her legs. The second knife swipes at her knee, but the knight spins on her other foot to dodge.

Not wanting to lose the close range, they dig a foot to the ground, and right before they stop, Frisk pivots so Chara's knife clashes against her katana. The blade embeds itself halfway, but their partner throws their other weapon, and mentally order it to shatter.

Jeanne is forced to use one hand to protect her face. Frisk steps closer, ducking under her blade and creating two knives for Chara to stab on her legs.

Their weapons scrape against her greaves as Jeanne jumps in time. Frisk doesn't pause as they turn while sliding.

They didn't expect the knight to be several dozens of feet in the air. They snap out of it when Chara throws their knives at her back.

They close the gap in a second, but she turns and breaks them with a quick slash. "Try again." The taunt is badly received.

Chara is seething, and Frisk is more than willing to accept the challenge. A set of explosions shake the dome. They ignore it in favor of attack.

They reform their knives, taking a moment to charge them. When Jeanne is close to landing, they dash.

Their partner throws them again, embedding them where she will land.

She looks confused, but then shows signs of panic when the knives explode. She lands, losing her balance when the rubble breaks due to her weighted armor. The knight is forced to use one arm to land face first, but Frisk is too slow to capitalize. She swings her katana as it's surrounded by teal aura.

The swing releases an energy wave that leaves them with two options. The first would be to jump, but it would potentially leave them to the same situation, minus the ground for friction. And the second is to challenge it and not get cut in half.

They prompt Chara when they join their hands. The knife they create clashes with the attack.

Their boots dig into the earth as both soul users use their full concentration to ensure the knife won't break. They endure this for several seconds until the energy wave fades. Their weapon shatters. Frisk is panting.

The knight has just gotten out of the fallen ground and is looking at them with an appraising look that unnerves Frisk. Another set of explosions make the dome shutter longer than before.

This ruins Jeanne's mood before she laughs it off.

"They're wasting their time~" Jeanne says with casualness that's grating on Frisk's nerves. "How about we pretend they can break dragon scales. By the time they do it, I will be done with your evaluation by then."

Frisk ignores her words to focus on reforming their weapons. They take the initiative and dash. Jeanne waits with her stance ready.

Once they're close, her blade comes to their right, and Chara swings one knife to strike underneath it.

 ***Crack***

It's enough to push it above their head, and with their left weapon, they swing to release a wave of rainbow energy.

Jeanne's eyes widen. They bend their back and have the attack miss. With their arms crossed, Frisk repairs their knives before Chara steps forward and performs a cross-slash.

But Frisk senses magic pouring in the ground, and halt their partner's attack to jump back before several blades break through the earth.

They slide to a stop. Seeing they can't get closer, they wait for Jeanne to make the next move.

The blades vanish in a white light, and Jeanne stands upright, looking rather pleased. "Can you do anything else?"

 _*Yes! But if only the damn soul fragments would listen to us!_ Frisk has to agree. Even with half of their red soul, it would be enough against Sans and all of his tricks. But their current soul problems prevent it.

 _Chara, do you remember Undyne's cyan and orange magic?_ And Chara immediately start gathering magic on their end, leaving Frisk to do their part in keeping both alive.

Jeanne seems to have waited long enough. She bends her legs and raises her katana. Much like the first time, she leaps to close the distance in an instance, but Frisk is too used to this type of speed. They manage to leap with all their strength at the last moment, but while in the air, they catch sight of a teal aura surrounding the blade. They see it travel downwards to where they land.

The ground exploded. They hear the earth splitting several times. The shockwave hits them unexpectedly.

They travel farther than anticipated, their shoulder slams against the ground. Frisk's weapons vanish, but not from the pain because they experienced worse, rather for when they roll, the human pushes themselves into the air with the momentum. With practiced ease, they land on their feet and slow to a stop.

Only then can they see the fissures surrounding the knight. The leftover energy lingers like fog over the damage.

They were painfully aware this battle was one-sided, but to see it angers Chara.

Frisk creates new multicolored knives and readies their legs to run. The energy Chara gathered is plenty, but they need more if they want it to be effective.

She dislodges her katana and turns in a casual manner before readying her weapon. "The plan was supposed to be simple. Confront those monsters, stall them long enough for Georg to separate them from you, and then kill them at our leisure. But then you had to rush in like that and say you're their ambassador." She giggles in a condescending fashion, and a flash of anger crosses Frisk's face. "Cao-kun had some ver~y specific orders. Kill those creatures and then take you into our group."

"I'd rather die than join you!" they shout with no hesitation, but this has the opposite effect on her.

She grins. "That's why the alternative to you being under these creatures' control, will be to kill you to spare you from any more suffering." Chara already wants to pull the combination magic to shut her up, but Frisk halts them till they gathered more energy. "Cao-kun was kind enough to let me go immediately instead of waiting, and you should be thankful because onee-san came up with the best plan ever. And that's to test your battle prowess, so if you had any potential as a fighter, it'd be easier to convince Georg to erase your memories and have you join us. In the case you have zero potential, I will gladly take the burden of ending your life."

When these humans talked so casually about killing them, Frisk wasn't as stunned as the rest due to their past runs, but the mind sweeping isn't something they can brush off.

 _Is she…serious about it?_ Suffering physical pain is something they can handle, but the possibility of losing his memories with the monsters shakes their earlier confidence. Fear rears its ugly head.

What they forgot was the kind of effect this has on their partner. In their adventure together, they have gotten used to the role of supporting each other. When Chara is troubled, Frisk listened. When they felt down, their partner always encouraged them to continue. So when Frisk is scared, Chara immediately wants to destroy whatever it is that's causing it.

Chara's fury swarms their entire being. _*Who does sh_ _ **e**_ _t_ _ **hinkshe**_ _i_ _ **s!?**_ Along with a feeling they're all too familiar with. _***This human, she's just like the rest! Frisk, don't just stand there, KILL HER!**_

Power emanates from their voice, close to the end of the previous timeline, when their LOVE escalated to an intoxicating euphoria. Unfortunately, they accept it for the extra red magic it will provide.

They see Jeanne's smile drop as her eyes widen with a quiver of fear in them. "Wha-What is that?"

The tugging in their soul stops, as do the soft whispers. The echoing beat of their soul fills their ears as unfiltered power surges to form a fiery dark-red aura around them.

Their smile becomes wide and sharp. Eyes are fully open and red as their partner's.

"You…" Jeanne has gotten control over their voice, her sword is held steady in front. Her crystal blue eyes narrow dangerously. "I thought you were human."

Their lips twitch and bark out a chuckle. _**[Human?]**_ Frisk and Chara's voice overlaps with humor and malice. _**[I was human at some point.]**_ Their newfound rush has both of them keen on the idea of enjoying this to its fullest.

When their killing intent reaches its peak, they let it run freely.

A small, wet trail travels down their cheek, followed by another, then another. It gets to the points where they're "crying".

At first, Jeanne is perturbed by the sight, then her mouth parts as her body shook. She lowers her katana, her face pales in horror.

It's understandable, considering their tears are jet-black – their overflowing killing intent and determination combined.

They smile sweetly and innocently. _**[But I'm a demon now, and I LO~VE it.]**_ A step back from the knight is all they need.

A powerful gust prompts the trained knight to raise her katana as Frisk approaches with a speed that cuts the air. With a feral smile, their red knives gleam as they swing.

Jeanne lets out a battle cry as her weapon moves in a silver flash.

A small shockwave erupts from the clash. Yellow and red sparks fly in the air while the weapons are locked in place. The silver blade shakes from its master's attempt to push it down.

Seconds later with no success, Frisk takes great pride in seeing the last of her confidence leave her.

With little effort, they break the lock and her katana is send flying as a result.

She stumbles back. Her footwork is shaky while power flows to the ground in abundance.

Frisk leaps back before a field of swords rise.

They smirk, since they wanted to end it in a flashy and painful manner.

They toss their knives in mid-air, and give a mental command. Determination, they learned, is a universal fuel. Determined to be kind, determined to be patient, determined to uphold integrity. But it cannot embody the trait. Using the basic function of each trait is simple, although limited.

One knife turns orange (bravery), and the other turns cyan (patience)-opposites in every sense of the word. It's fortunate for Frisk that a simple shape manipulation is all what's needed. They ignite in their respective color before growing, and when the two traits connect, it explodes into a firestorm that consumes all blades and the knight in a heartbeat.

Frisk and Chara laugh in glee hearing the human scream in pain. As they land, the human can't help but reminisce what Undyne did in a past timeline. It was a fight Undyne couldn't win, and she knew it, so in an attempt to stop them, she performed a kamikaze attack by crisscrossing two spears of cyan and orange. They last thing they remember before they **[Loaded]** their last **[Save]** , was an explosion of light with two colors trying to overpower the other.

The same is happening with the fire. Both colors push against each other, growing stronger in an attempt of supremacy.

Frisk vaguely notices the human's screams have stopped. Moments later, the opposite traits run out of energy, leaving behind a sight that makes Chara proud. The grass has been completely destroyed, spider cracks litter the affected area, and the fissures is filled by debris. Sadly, it isn't charred since it wasn't real fire. Which is fine. Though that means the –- **disgusting** —human won't have any type of burn.

Speaking of the human, she's standing at the center coated in a familiar emerald aura.

Frisk frown, thinking it didn't work as well as they wanted, but their smile turns into elation when the light died out.

Jeanne's armor is cracked with falling fragments. Her clothes are shredded all over, blood seeping out, but nothing too major- **unfortunately**. The groomed fashion of her hair is now in disarray, and her face is twisted in pain with a thin trail of blood flowing down her forehead.

The swords, not surrounded by light, have several fractures on their blades, a mist of dust flowing from them.

But the most interesting detail would be the cartoonish green heart on her chest. Unlike the kid's soul they've seen from the underground, this one has a pale appearance. This explains Jeanne's actions. In her view, it would be an act of— **a twisted-** 'kindness' to end Frisk's misery.

A quick Scan tells them it's near breaking point.

 ***Looks like that sword didn't protect her from everything,** Chara muses in a chipper tone.

Then as if pushed by a gentle breeze, she falls on her back. Her sword shatters into particles of light while her soul returns inside of her.

Frisk walks over to her with a hop in their step. They idly take note the explosions have stopped, and the swords holding the barrier are dissolving like the other one.

Stopping next to her, they take a moment to appreciate their work. Their soul goes back in them as they no longer need their full strength, making the aura vanish as well.

 _Quick, or do we prolong it?_ Like if that is even a question, but their partner plays along and answers.

 _*Make sure she suffers._

And Frisk is much to oblige. They reform one knife and reverse their grip.

Extending their hand up, they swing for an artery on her neck.

"Frisk!" The cry of worry stops them, and they frown.

Turning their head, they see Asriel running towards them. He stumbles briefly. His face loses all emotions, replaced by a grievous concern.

Frisk notices their killing intent is still leaking, but even so, it's a surprise Asriel is affected on that distance. He's still getting closer despite the risks to his own body. They see Alphys trying to catch up, halting before reaching the spot where Asriel stumbled. Sweat permeates her face, and her body shakes in the same manner as when Asriel used his killing intent.

Their attention shifts when Asriel is near them. "Frisk ***Pant*** What…" Asriel looks at their weapon, to the defeated knight, and then back to their eyes. There's panic in his bloodshot eyes, but grieve seems to have won over. "What are you doing?"

They scowl, but he doesn't back off. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill her." The simple concise answer startles the goat. Instead of backing away like a normal monster would, they grab onto their shoulder.

 ***Does he want to stop us?** Their weapon glows briefly.

"Frisk…you won right?" He starts out soft. "Isn't that enough?"

"Enough?" They raise an eyebrow. "They **want** to kill us. **She** was going to kill you and Alphys."

"But I'm sure that-"

Frisk is getting tired of this. "She wanted to erase my memories." They pause to let the horror sink into his eyes. "My memories of monsters to be exact. She was saying it like everybody was an infection, and I'd be cured if I forgot. Pretty stupid right?"

Asriel looks like he wants to argue, but they won't let him. "Flowey was right." That seems to knock the wind out of him. "Look at what giving them mercy got us. We're separated from our family, and we don't know if they're alive." Their gaze goes back to the knight's sleeping form. "I can't **[Load]** anymore. Every mistake, and every death is permanent now, and this _human_...is worse than the ones Chara ran from." Their teeth clench, holding back Chara's rage. "She's worse than the humans that forgot about me! So why Asriel!? Why should I give her mercy!? She wants to kill us, it's only fair if we do the same!"

 _ ***Crybaby, weakling, spineless.**_ These thoughts and more fill their head in regard to Asriel. _Did he forget what the humans did to him? They killed him for something he didn't do! Why is he trying to keep this one alive!?_

The next thing they know, two arms wrap around their neck and fur presses on their tainted cheek.

They blink. Their ire forgotten as they take note of a furry head pressing against their own.

They hear a hissing sound between them, yet Frisk isn't burning up. Then they notice it, dust flowing off the monster.

"Asriel?" Their soul must've protected him from the effects their killing intent has on him, but now he's touching a concentrated, liquid form. He must be nearing his limit.

"I don't want you to be like Chara!" he ends with a whimper. Asriel moves back so they can see his face. The side of his cheek is now smeared with dark liquid. Steam and dust flows out, but Asriel looks like he doesn't even feel it.

A strange feeling bubbles inside them. The knife is lowered. They feel a compulsion to wipe the ugliness off his cheek, but another feeling stops them – their partner's **disappointment**.

"Frisk…I hate Flowey. He-I hate that I enjoyed killing everyone. I-" He closes his eyes, tears trying to escape **– like the crybaby he is –** before he reopens them. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE LIKE US!"

That same feeling rises. Their soul is slowly bathed in its warmth, and the fog in their mind drifts off.

They raise their empty hand. "Asriel, I…"

 ***What a waste of space.** Their killing intent spikes as Chara swings their knife towards his spine.

The blade pierces flesh and bone. Asriel gasps as his eyes widen in shock. "Fr…Frisk…?"

The human is mimicking his expression. "I…," They're unable to comprehend why this happened, but…feeling the warm blood running down their hand, the last shrouds in their mind lift off, and then comes the sharp pain of their blade through their hand.

"…I'm sorry." Their previous exhaustion comes back in full force. The knife dissolves, letting their blood run free as they drop onto Asriel.

The last they hear is their friend's cries of worry.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this took forever to get out. Let's see, I had this complicated project to do, then there were the Final Exams.**

 **What happened afterwards, is that I wrote myself into a corner with this chapter. There were plenty of things that didn't make sense, even for me. So that took time to fix, and this is my final result.**

 **Now let's talk about the actual chapter. As everyone should know by now, this Frisk will fight if needed, but they will always try to end things peacefully. Granted, it didn't work this time, but it's not like this is going to stop them from trying.**

 **Now, about the LOVE (Level of Violence) Frisk used, it made them powerful alright, but it isn't something they will be using anytime soon, considering that they were about to kill Asriel.**

 **Then there's the Hero Faction. I'm always surprised to see how little information there's about their pasts, despite them being this powerful villains for the protagonists to beat. So I'm going to be one of the few stories (that I know of) that will give them more background. I'm still debating how much since they're not the main focus of this story.**

 **Also, the Alphys fans out there, she will be getting her time to shine in later chapters. It's just that right now, she's out of her element and with little way of fighting back.**

 **I think that about wraps everything I wanted to talk about, without spoiling much. Please tell me if my characterization of everyone came out alright, or any mistakes I and my Beta Tapp didn't find. So please leave a review, it lets me know that people do appreciate what I'm doing here.**

 **Edit (5/29/2018) – Changes to some dialogue and grammar fixes.**


	4. A Much Needed Reunion (Part 3)

_Frisk_ \- Thinking/Flashback

[~*~] – time change

"Frisk" - Dialogue

 _"Frisk"_ / _*Frisk_ – Chara talking through Frisk/mentally communicating to Frisk

 _[…]_ – Chara & Frisk's voice overlapping.

* * *

 ***Sigh***

Georg wonders if his teammates know the importance of a plan. Seconds ago, it was a clear five versus five, but now after Jeanne played the white knight, one of them will have to take on two Monsters.

He hides in the fog on the far side. One hand raises a magic circle that's radiating white—a mixture of Norse and Angel magic. He can't help but ponder how jealous his teachers would be to see him perfect their work.

"Ha haha hah ha!" The monsters, except for the short skeleton who's still looking at the fog, turn to look at the giant hero Heracles. His tone is mocking as he takes enjoyment in the creatures' incredulous expression, "Don't give me that face. You're lucky Jeanne was the one who went. She will just kill the three without playing around."

Georg doesn't go out of his way to socialize—except when he has to. But even he can tell the mood changed immediately.

He feels a small nudge in his mind, and he can tell that it's from where he put those three earlier. _They're trying to break through?_ The Magician is surprised they can even attempt that. He puts more concentration on that area to easily stop them, but he can't put any more thought as something huge flashes forward from the monster's side. Then one from the Hero's.

"Heracles, stop!" That's a shout from his leader, and all he can think is:

 _Does anyone in this group know about teamwork?_ Granted, they're a recently made group, but he thought there be more professionalism involved. That's why he's hiding and powering a teleportation spell in case fighting these creatures together proved too difficult.

Then the giants clash. The goat creature with the purple cape and golden armor swung his red trident. And Heracles, with a natural strength that matches even the supernatural creatures, punches. Thanks to his Sacred Gear, the ground below them cracks as an explosion covers them.

The one who's launched is…Heracles! He blinks as the muscled Hero flies backwards with a pained look. No longer looking amused. The smoke parts to show that the monster is unharmed, with an expression that's a far cry to the meek smile from before. Those eyes are now cold and narrowed.

Before the monster can get back into his stance, the remaining two heroes are already upon him, about to swing their respective weapons. But are interrupted as white fireballs fly at them at high speeds.

They stop so their weapons can intercept the magic. The goat monster levels his weapon horizontally and slams forward. Their defenses didn't hold as they're pushed several meters back.

Georg quickly looks to the other side to see who casts the spell, and sees the other goat monster with her paw up, and several white fireballs around her and the skeletons. The Fish monster with the eyepatch is already rushing ahead with a spear in her hands and an a sharp-toothed snarl to match.

Heracles has gotten up and made a mad dash towards the trident user. With a growl, he tries punching again, but is interrupted as the fish monster stops with a stomp on the ground and throws her spear. He's forced to guard and the blue flash of explosion stops him on his tracks.

The monster trusts with his trident, but Heracles finally does a smart move and moves a palm forward. When the weapon connects with flesh, another explosion rocks the ground, and the hero skids backwards out of the smoke before jumping back to regroup with the others.

His leader, Cao Cao, has a stern look as his eyes scan the monsters and the fireballs hovering above them. Heracles has his fists up in a boxer pose, an annoyed look on his face. Siegfried is now the only one that looks like he's enjoying this despite being at a disadvantage.

He sees the giant monster tell something to the one next to him, but it's too far to hear, and ended too soon to use a spell to listen in.

The fish monster steps forward and throws another spear. This one explodes on the ground in front of the heroes and covers them in a cloud of dust.

The trident user dashes forward and performs a long swing. One hero pops out of the smoke from the top, and another from the side. The trident impacts something and a powerful gust is unleashed. It pushes the dust away to reveal Heracles with his arms crossed. The side of the trident trying to dig into his flesh, but only managing to draw a thin stream of blood.

Siegfried lands far behind him, and Cao Cao just keeps dashing towards the other monsters.

The fish monster rushes towards the demon swordsman. Their weapons lock briefly, but surprisingly, the thin looking monster pushes Siegfried back a long distance. He barks out a laughter, enjoying this too much. Georg rolls his eyes.

Cao Cao is currently advancing, but even as white fireballs approach him from all angles, he destroys them with a flourish of spins as his golden spear blurs as a golden streak.

He quickly glances to the side and notices the taller skeleton has a raised hand, but it has a nervous—he didn't know skeletons could be expressive—face. It does nothing at the moment.

The fireballs continue to fly around him but all fail, until some start impacting the ground. The cracks created halt him, and he's forced to leap back before the ground explodes.

But in the air he looks back, Georg quickly follows. The fish monster already threw her spear at his leader, but he manages to twist his body fast enough so the spear barely passes by his side. Unfortunately, something the magician barely caught, the giant monster is below him. His trident already in an upward swing and the ground in its path shatters. His leader holds his spear horizontally, but as the weapons clash, two red prongs catch the spear. The monster swings the human backwards to the ground. A white glow surrounds the Hero.

The ground explodes as his body collides. From his guesses, he sinks in about a meter. The monster raises his trident and positions it to stab it downwards.

But a quick flash of holy energy destroys a wider section of the ground, forcing the monster to jump back.

Cao Cao leaps out of the hole and dashes back to the others. The white light that protects him vanishes, and Georg notices a few specks of blood below his lips—likely when he coughed up after the impact. He ducks a slice from the fish monster and reunites with the other Heroes.

Heracles is now rubbing his chest and the trail of blood running down his chin, and if the hole behind him is any indication, he's been punched into the earth.

For a second, Georg reconsiders using the magic circle in his hand, but decides against it…for now.

A wall of white fireballs rush over to them, and all three unleash either a holy wave, a giant explosion from the ground, and a demonic energy slash. It's easy for him to sense that the variation of magic destroys one another.

But before it did, he sees the trident user swing his weapon, and a small tornado of authentic fire is unleashed.

The Heroes can only see it after the first collision ended, and it's Heracles who dashes forward and punches it. The fire rushes to the sides as the brawler's natural magical resistance pushes it away.

When it ends, the grass it gone and the earth is scorched black, and several trees are already crumbling down from the heat.

He can see that the other Heroes are sweating slightly from the sudden heat.

Georg is conflicted. He looks at the magic circle intently. It's clear that on a three vs. three the Heroes are at a disadvantage, proving the monsters have better coordination. Granted, they have yet to use their **[Balance Breaker]** , but how much have the monsters left to reveal? _Should I attack?_ But then he remembers those two skeletons, so there's a good chance they will jump the moment he does.

Then the voice of his leader pulls him out of his thoughts, "You monsters fight well together, but what about your individual strength." Georg can understand that cue. He readies his spell and waits for the best opportunity

Heracles makes a dash and screams in rage. This apparently catches attention of the fire caster as all of them go to him. Then Cao Cao goes after the trident user, and Siegfried dashes over to the blue spear user.

Sets of explosions shakes the earth briefly, even to where Georg is as Heracles is covered in dust. His leader stops and swings. Red and gold connect. And as it looks like the monster is about to push Cao Cao back, he slides back and just dodges the spear. Then with a spin he counterattacks, but it just misses as the monster steps back. This rhythm continues as a flurry of gold and red flies between them.

Further back, he sees Siegfried crossing blades with the monster. The swordsman cackles as he's being pushed back, but then he sidesteps. Their weapons clash again but Georg can see how the swordsman pushes it to the side with expertise. Then again and again, locking her in place.

And out of the dust, Heracles charges out with a wide grin. Only to be met by three normal looking fireballs. He was wrong. The earth shakes more violently than before, and the earth beneath the hero shatters.

Georg pauses, and silently tells himself to be more careful when confronting these creatures.

As he ends his analysis, he sees several bones fly towards the brawler. He raises an eyebrow at the use of such an odd item, it becomes even stranger as they form a dome around the impact zone. Oddly enough it looks sturdy as they are lined row over row.

He looks to the side again, and the only possible culprit is the tall skeleton with its arm extended. Though it still looks unsure, maybe it was talked to into doing it?

Not that it worries the Magician, and just as he expected, the dome explodes outwards as the bones disintegrate. As Heracles gets into his brawler stance, he wears an undaunted toothy grin, sporting no new injury.

 _Perfect._ Cao Cao is (possibly) facing their strongest fighter. Siegfried is holding another opponent, and Heracles didn't take any damage. His magic circle glows brighter before leaving his hands and flying overhead.

He uses his entire focus for precision. It lands on the other side of the battlefield before activating. The magic circle expands on the earth and stops when he resends the signal.

Most of the fighters are standing on it except for his leader and the two goat creatures.

He sees the two monsters staying behind look at the magic circle with confusion. The short skeleton is still looking at the creation of his sacred gear, and the ones fighting pause briefly before the fish monster continues her attack and Cao Cao follows with his.

But it was only a moment later when a white flash took the battlefield. Everyone on the circle were transported into a different area within his artificial dimension.

 _This is easier to handle_. If they had more members, they could've overwhelmed these monsters with numbers, or had they more experience working together, then splitting up wouldn't be necessary. So they're going to count on their individual strength to win.

He would've given Heracles all three magicians to fight, but the power the fire user displayed is not something he will underestimate. He's also interested in studying their brand of magic at his leisure.

His smile drops before he throws himself on the side. A white, giant fireball pushes through the fog without any resistance and the ground explodes when it makes contact.

He rolls to a crouch. His brown cloak flutters from the movement. He stands on his black boots, baggy blue pants, and buttoned shirt of a darker color. Georg fixes his square glasses, which almost fell. His spikey hair is always a mess. He shakes his cloak to get rid of the dirt.

The **[Longinus]** user doesn't look where the fireball struck, sensing it has vanished. Besides, the female goat is running at him with speed he seen his leader use.

 _That could be a problem._ Tapping into the little light affinity he has is enough to cast a white light on himself and teleport him high in the air. A green magic circle appears under his feet. The wind coming from it keeps him afloat.

With distractions out of the way, he looks at the monster below.

She stops near his last location, paws coated in an inferno. A glare shadowed by an intense hatred makes him sweat.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why. _One goat King, this is a female goat, and a goat child… So this is what it feels to earn the ire of a mother._

He would honestly feel bad, but it's just like Cao Cao once said:

 _Doesn't matter how they look, evil takes all forms and offers anything to make humans their slaves. There's no room for sympathy or doubt._

He uses the smallest trickle of his magic to form the magic circles, and then they absorb a bit of ambient energy—which is stronger than his own-for the actual power in its attack. They all shine their respective element.

His defense is set, and from here he will probe the monster's weaknesses.

A small smile plays on his lips. Defending humanity is a noble goal that Georg respects, but he's also a scholar, and he will make sure every clue and fact he obtains from this is recorded for future generations.

* * *

Toriel can remember the time she was this livid. It was when her ex-husband declared war on humanity, and he did so after their two children were killed. Chara by poison they ingested by mistake, and Asriel by human hands.

Back then, she was more in grieve than angry. She loved Chara as much as Asriel, so Asgore declaring death on sight on any human that fell to the underground, was like a betrayal for her.

For that reason…she's going to **kill** this human first so she can save her children!

She summons over two dozen white fireballs and launches them with a mental command.

The human unleashes his own array of spells.

His own fireball destroys another. A jet of water pushes one back before the flames run out of energy. A wind saw shatters while splitting the fireball in half. Lightning tears another into pieces. A white energy beam hits its target and cancels one another, and a sphere of darkness ravages through one and several others it comes into contact before dissipating.

 _That's not killing intent,_ she realizes. Her surviving set of fireballs fly closer to him, _Did humans create something similar, or is he using nature's energy in his attacks?_

He becomes surrounded by a dark crystal orb, making the first volley of her attacks dissolve. She commands the rest to go overhead and then back in a long arc. A large group in front huddle together, while the rest gather behind as they slow down. Putting a growing distance between the two.

White magic is a canvas, weak but easy to create and change to new color.

The front group changes to orange, so when it collides with the dark energy, it doesn't vanish immediately and instead pushes against the **unmoving** object. She couldn't hear the cracks, but she could feel it weakening under the assault. As the last ones are about to fade, she changes the second group to yellow, and they speed up abruptly.

They cross the distance in an instant, and the first one that connects causes the pleasant sound of glass shattering. The rest bombard the human inside.

 ***Shatter***

It happens again as the mage is forcefully thrown out of his barrier-

Toriel's eyes widen. In his hand is another magic circle, this one emitting a dark cackle of electricity.

A cyan wall of flame rises in front of her. Its properties offering the best protection against the **incoming** attack. Despite that, malignant lightning pushes it back as bolts fly off everywhere, tearing through the earth mercilessly and eradicating trees with the touch.

Toriel grits her teeth and has to push her paw against the flames to keep them steady. It might have lasted for two seconds, but she felt her soul energy take a serious drain from maintaining her defense.

So when the attack ended, she strengthens her feet with magic and dashes farther behind into the forest. She hides behind a tree soon after. Toriel knows the foliage won't provide much protection, but she's hoping more to obstruct visibility. And since she's not being attacked, her previous attack must've stunned him long enough for her to hide.

Even so, she lets out a low growl, _It's my fault I'm like this._ The last one hundred years have not been kind to her. After her self-exile, she neglected her training, only using her magic to set up brain-challenging traps, heal monsters and help with the cooking. It's only because she's a Boss Monster that she hasn't dropped to her knees. Even Royal Guards would last longer than her.

She clenches her fists, and takes a deep breath, then exhales. Then repeats. Before the monsters were locked up, the natural energy wasn't corrupted with malice. Before, she would've recovered her soul power in seconds, but now it's taking longer for her to recover.

Her initial attack was from reckless anger, now she has an idea on how to proceed, but she needs time if she's planning to use red fire.

* * *

Pain is something he's quite familiar with. Experiments tend to end in disasters, a new spell tends to misfire due to bad calculations, or in worst cases, explodes in your face, yet, feeling vulnerable is a new one for him.

Under him is a new green magic circle, the steady wind it provides keeps him afloat. His cloak has tears, but its defensive properties are still usable.

What worries him is how the pain makes him feel. There's a hot knot in his chest that he can't explain, and for a brief instant, he felt vulnerable.

 _Their magic doesn't follow any principle I ever heard of,_ he looks at the forest below but find no trace of her, and trying to sense her is impossible. Likely from her having such control over it, that she can lower it to the point of nonexistent.

He extends a hand out, and rows upon rows of small magic circles appear around him. He spreads them out and dark electricity surges around them. _If her body is as susceptible as her magic, then this will force her out._

A bead of sweat rolls down his forehead, _Calm down, she's down there. Any attack she does is one I will see._ It's embarrassing he's having this much trouble. He might not be at the level of Cao Cao and Siegfried, but he's fully capable of handling Ultimate Class Devils, and this one has yet to show a power output that matches them.

His senses are instantly overtaken by a massive power spike. He shakily turns his head in its direction, and he can tell he missed seeing it. Because miles ahead, a section of the forest has been destroyed, and within the destroyed area, there's an ice dome that's crumbling down. _That's where I teleported the others._ A grave thought passes his mind, _How is Jeanne doing?_

And under the covers of the trees, Toriel whispers a thank you.

A red flame ignites on her paw. Then she fires it to the sides. It flies around the trees without ever losing speed.

It's at this moment when Georg's eyes snap back to the forest below. His gaze moving fast to track the object moving at high-speeds.

He fires several lightning bolts. Each explosion sends dust and debris everywhere, but the power source evades them all, then it finally comes out of the woodworks and towards him. It's a small red fireball that is packed with condensed power, _Too dangerous._

He fires several bolts in hopes to swarm it and detonate it before they get too close. So it confuses him when the attack dissolves into thin air before his own reach him.

He can't ponder why as the air becomes heated with raw energy.

Yellow and cyan fireballs materialize all around him and more spawn in moments. With a mental command, the magic circles form a makeshift dome around him before fire starts raining down on him.

The yellow fire approaches quickly, but those are easily destroyed. It's the cyan ones that approach closer. It wasn't a problem the first seconds, then they started coming in clusters. They push the lightning back and allow the yellow fire to break one of his magic circles. And from there others shortly follow.

A white light surrounds him as he's readying a teleportation. If his life wasn't in danger, he would marvel at the beauty that is invading the surrounding area with your own magic to shorten the distance of attack.

He teleports before the last of his defense crumbles. After he reappears, another magic circle manifests under his feet.

He gasps. Despite teleporting a half-a-mile away for safety, he can tell the yellow flames have crossed three-fourths of that. _She sensed where I was teleporting to!_

With no options, he drops to one knee and covers himself fully with his cloak. The sigils inside shining blue as the cloak's shield grew stronger. A moment later, the explosions release a blinding light as more join.

It quickly ends, and reveals his cloak now sporting large tears. He raises to his feet, and what he first sees are the two fireballs approaching from the forest ahead.

His eyes narrow, _I won't be ridiculed because of some unknown magic._ A bright light shrouds his hand as he extends it, and a large magic circle appears in front. A green and purple light emitting in harmony.

 _Even if the fireballs dodge, the monster should still get affected by the explosion, and her concentration broken._

Imbued with dark properties, a giant wind spear is shot out, and he can sense one of the fireballs slowing down significantly. The first one meets his spell, and much to his surprise and chagrin, the power of his spell starts shooting randomly to the sides as the fireball punctures through.

He shudders as he remembers how the pain made him feel vulnerable. Georg increases the power output despite his magic reserves draining faster.

The explosion is a violent storm of red fire that pushes the dark winds back, nearly destroying his magic circle. Even though it should've destroyed it, he can sense the other fireball flying through the explosion. His analytical mind suggestion it's probably very resistant due to the first needing a larger amount of his magic to destroy it.

The part of his mind responsible for self-preservation, has to halt his attack, and quickly rearrange its matrices of his spell for another purpose. A crystal black shield is formed, the energy it held is now to defend one side. Unlike the dome that was more spread, this one is stronger.

Confident it will hold, he prepares another magic circle in his hand. The fire storm clears, and the fireball is about to hit-

Its path changes drastically into a curve. From the corner in his eyes, he sees a yellow streak moving behind him. The magic in his hand vanishes to reform behind as a hastily made shield.

Unseen by him, the moment the yellow fireball is aligned with his back, the thin layers dissolves to reveal the red fireball. Without any speed lost, it shot forward and struck the barrier.

There was no heat, but the fire tore to him like sharp saw blades and blunt force that tore through his barrier and the last moment reinforcement of his cloak. He should be thankful that the pain was so great that his body became numb to it.

A firestorm grows to engulf Georg and vast amount of space around him, but around two seconds, his body is thrown from the side while dipping down in an arc.

A magic circle appears below him, doing a great job in slowing his descend to a stop with a soft but strong gust.

His cloak is now in tatters. It slips off his shoulders. Thin, streams of blood travel down his bare back, and gashes on his arms. His buttoned shirt now looks like straps of fabrics with torn edges and holes. His pants can still be recognized as an article of clothing, but it's slowly being stained by blood.

 _I got lucky._ Had that spell reached him, he would've died. Had the shockwave not threw him out of danger as quick as it did, then the fire would've torn him limb by limb.

He tries rolling onto his stomach, but can't move himself.

Toriel on the other hand, is leaning against the tree for full support. Her panting is slow and heavy, more importantly, she's recovering, and there're still something she can still do.

She raises her paw, and Georg's eyes snap into focus at the air. White flames ignite into existence, and the human can only think bitterly, _Residue magic, so simple yet so effective._ _I could make it better._

As the fireballs shoot, he can hear the earth shake. Which messes with the caster as the attack halts. Then a shockwave rocks the artificial space.

 **[~*~]**

The King is keeping a hardened gaze on his enemy unlike before where he would bend his head to avoid eye contact. Now he's facing a young adult, not a kid…meaning he has to kill again, and yet, he fully embraced it after those words left the human's lips.

His red trident cuts through the air to counter every strike from the hero. Sparks fly with every encounter as both try to find an opening.

Asgore admits he might've been too hasty sending his ex-wife to fight the hidden mage, but none of the four humans that showed themselves looked responsible for creating the fog. The magic circle that teleported three of his people somewhere else is his only lead. With any luck, the mage's defeat might lift the fog so they can check the safety of their children and Dr. Alphys.

His trident radiates in response to his emotions. Their clashes appear even in strength. The human is pushed back, but he doesn't look worried. Cao Cao bends his legs so the red trident passes above him. He swings, but interrupts his own attack to jump back before a fire pillar erupted under him.

With a mental command, the fire forms into a sphere about his size and the King shoots it with a thought.

The targeted Hero doesn't blink even as a heat wave washes over him. In one moment his spear is held diagonally, then the next he cuts the fireball vertically in one quick motion.

But the sight of the big monster rushing head on, with its eyes flashing an eerie orange and cyan is enough for a short surprise.

The monster stops when in range and both swing their weapons.

His golden spear moves to meet with…an orange trident. What shocks him is that the monster's weapon phases through his. If that wasn't enough, the golden blade misses as it was meant to deviate, and the trident approaches his body.

He takes an instinctive step back to avoid it despite being futile, and the weapon connects with his body…but phases through as well.

Cao Cao gasps in shock. His mind is occupied trying to comprehend how their magic works. It's only because of honed instincts that his hands move to position his weapon as a shield, his legs bend and tenses to handle the blow.

This time it's glowing cyan, and it phases through the weapon. The slice meant for his thighs pass harmlessly. _But why?_ His mind finally catches up and repositions his spear for the next attack.

It's back to glowing orange, and what Cao Cao doesn't know about the monsters are their color attacks. Most prominently the orange and cyan attacks; the basic functions of the former only work against people who stay still, and the basic applications of the latter only works on a moving target.

So when the orange attack connects with the unmoving spear, the shockwave sends Cao Cao flying. His feet grind against the earth to the point they start sinking. He stabs the bud of his spear to the ground and tightens his grip.

His muscles aren't burning by the end of it, but they are a bit stiff. His instincts kick in, and he has to acknowledge the monster's speed, for he's in front of him with his trident raised.

Asgore's downward swing is sidestepped, but shatters the earth and releases a wave of fire. This forces Cao Cao to jump back, and as he's about to land, Asgore has already rushed at him with his spear ready to attack.

But the holder of the **[True Longinus]** isn't playing defense any longer. The back end of his spear extends at a blinding speed, hitting the ground behind him to propel him forward. With a grin, he bends his leg and knees Asgore in the snout.

He soars over the goat monster before the end of his spear retracts. The momentum has him sliding when he lands, and he uses it to spin and ready his stance.

Asgore has one paw over his snout, and when he removes it, Cao Cao raises an eyebrow. Instead of blood, he sees dust. He shakes his confusion off as the boss monster gets ready to attack again.

"You're one of the strangest creatures I've ever seen."

The King tightens his grip and a scowl is starting to form. ***Sigh*** His anger is removed for disappointment. "I hoped by now humans would've been more understanding. Or perhaps it's just you and your group that stayed the same?"

The human smirks, and a tone of amusement in his voice, "Me and my group are solely responsible for eliminating threats normal humans can't handle. We _understand_ who our enemies are."

Asgore shakes his head, and the pity in his eyes grade on Cao Cao's nerves. The emotion doesn't cross his features before the Monster speaks, "No, your people attacked mine when we haven't done harm. That's not understanding. It's anger and prejudice." Those words are like a knife through the Monster's soul.

As a King, he doesn't regret giving his people hope when the news of his kid's deaths brought sorrow and depression on them. As a husband, he wished he found another way so his wife didn't leave him, and he can't help but imagine how betrayed Chara would be. He sometimes dreamed of Asriel screaming at him—his son was quite attached to Chara.

Even when their entire race was first sealed, many of them were still alive. Gerson, Grillby, his wife and he helped with building a new civilization. It was slow, and not perfect, but it was better than the last one-hundred years—those kids might've survive and lived peacefully in the underground if he hadn't declared war on humanity.

His head bows, so his hair obscures his view. Cao Cao would've attacked, but his honed instincts tell him that the monster isn't defenseless.

As for Asgore, he remembers how he gave Frisk that knife to fight, and the necklace to magically defend themselves. At the time he was already too tired. To the point were he was willing to let Frisk kill him if they had the strength.

"…If," he starts, "I offer myself as a prisoner, would you be willing to have faith in the rest of my race and let them go?"

Seconds pass, the Hero shows a frown but only that, "…If you drop your weapon and lie on the ground, that would be a good start."

The tone of his voice didn't betray him, but because Monster's bodies are made of magic, they're fully attuned to their souls. With that, picking up traces of emotions are one of their specialties. Which is why Monsters are susceptible to killing intent, specifically the weaker ones.

It's easy for him to interpret his feelings to know that Cao Cao will kill him the chance he gets. He wishes to smile bitterly or bark out a laugh, but he doesn't have the energy for that, _Is this what waits for us in the human town? Why did we even come to the surface if nothing has changed?_

Then it happened, a power signature he's acquainted with.

Asgore and Cao Cao look to the side, and despite knowing it's several miles away, they're still able to see a white dome of energy rising. It vanishes a second later.

The Hero looks where the power source was with a guarded expression, but inside he's trying to remember if he sensed this level of power, and the answer is no. The grip on his weapon tightens.

The Monster King watched it with awe in his eyes. When it vanishes, he remembers his need to breathe. _Why am I doubting when others are putting in more effort than me?_ The grip on his trident softens, but it's still strong, _If Toriel were here, she would've punched me, and for good reason._

He redirects his gaze onto the human. Who glares at him.

Asgore's eyes no longer hold the same hatred as before, there's a fire in them that makes him look more alive than before. The air around him vibrates, _If-when I survive, I have to apologize to Toriel and the kids._

Red fire spouts on his body. It rages as if gusts continuously feed into it. Asgore can feel a great deal of pressure on his body. He feels his energy draining fast, and while he can recover faster with his 'fire' purifying the air, it's not enough to compensate. _I wasn't planning on this lasting either._ He remembers the blonde knight was gone for quite a while.

Cao Cao regards the Monster, and after considering it, a holy light is emitting from his spear. "You monsters seem to have your own surprises, but us Heroes are much the same: **[Balance Breaker]**!" A holy white light envelopes him. After it fades, seven orbs of light float behind him. "I will show you the best humanity has to offer."

"I've already seen the best of humanity, and that's not from you." Asgore counters immediately. His lips curve into a smile.

The only sign that it grates him is how his expression tightens. Cao Cao trusts his spear to unleash a pillar of light. Asgore does the same but summons a white fireball as huge as him.

The ground shakes upon the clash. Asgore dashes forward as a red flash and appears next to the human. The red prongs are thrust towards his arm, but the human cancels his attack and throws himself into a roll, leaving behind the orbs.

When the Longinus user ends on his knee, the monster king is already upon him swinging the blunt side of his trident.

 **{Atsusa Ratana}** The hero speaks these words without fear before he vanishes, and Asgore's weapon just ends up pushing a large amount of air.

Cao Cao reappears where he previously was. He looks to the side to see a close representation of a dragon's breath heading towards him. He smirks. **{Mala Ratana}**.

An orb intercepts before it glows enough to cover the attack. He watches with a glint in his eye as the attack is redirected towards the Monster.

Asgore turns, and his eyes widen. He dissipates it with a mental command-it doesn't. It flies closer, but when it's about ten feet, he swings and cuts through it.

Only for the sharp end of the spear to extend through it and stab him in the chest. He gasps, the air forcefully leaves him as he feels his magic drain faster to protect him.

He skids back several meters. Asgore grits his teeth and with a fist, punches it on the staff. It grates on the fire as it reaches his shoulder. Light gathers on the blade and it pushes stronger against his magic. He closes his eyes as the pain as the strain to keep that magic up gets to him.

The red fire decreases to a thin layer, and the spear punctures into his shoulder. His eyes shoot open, a pained realization settles on him as Cao Cao smirks, "First Blood."

White light radiates strongly to cover the King briefly. He's nearly thrown to his knees from the explosion. Shards of golds, pieces of purple cloth and dust flies to all sides.

The spear retracts to its normal length, and takes a moment to admire his work.

Asgore is gritting his teeth. Part of his shoulder is gone, but his arm is still usable. Dust flows about from the wound.

Cao Cao may have seen the dust flowing from his snout, but seeing it in greater amount is still surprising. He sees the monster taking his posture, while he does the same. The wound isn't an assured victory, but he's still proud to have done the first serious damage.

Knowing that the injury will get worse if not treated, Asgore releases the energy he's been storing. The fire around him picks up on intensity again, and on his shoulder the fire turns green for a second. The missing pieces of his shoulder are restored, but now his fur is coated in dust.

Cao Cao frowns, _So Fallen Angels are not the only ones that can heal in a fight._ One of his orbs light up.

 **{Kahabatei Ratana}** A sphere moves between the two fighters. It shines, and in front forms a humanoid figure of light with a full body armor and a spear in its hands. Then another appears, and another. Until about a hundred of them surrounds him.

Asgore wastes no time to charge magic into his trident. It prompts the soldiers to act. Most run, ready to impale him from all sides, and some jump to stab him from the top.

But the King has already raised his weapon. He slams the bud onto the ground with a force enough to cause cracks.

He becomes the epicenter of a red firestorm. The earth is grinded to dust then pushed down. He hears the tearing of metal all around (assuming they're from the soldiers), some closer than the rest. Asgore adds more energy to ensure all of them are destroyed.

He stops seconds later, and the once green field is now littered with rubble and cracks. But he doesn't see the human.

A shadow looms on him. He barely turns his head before another orb flies in front of him. He attacks it.

 **{Chatsuka Ratana}**

He feels the air shift unnaturally, and his weapon crumbles into red dust.

Asgore's eyes widen. When he hears metal cutting air, he raises one forearm to shield himself.

Holy and fire clash violently. The former forms a barrier around its user, and its light gains almost a blind intensity. The latter grows into an inferno, determination feeding into the flames, but it lessens with every passing moment as the white light grows.

Asgore feels the flames being pushed apart. His armor offers less protection. He tightens his other fist, and most of the red flames quickly gather around it before he punches the holy aura.

The explosion that follows can be described as blinding and deafening.

Asgore is shot towards the ground. Fissures are formed, the earth caves in under the pressure, and the Boss Monster bites his lower lip to stop shouting in pain. His armor absorbs most of the damage but it cracks in several places.

Cao Cao is send flying upwards. He grits his teeth while wincing in pain.

 **{Hatsutei Ratana}** One of his spheres touches him, and he starts slowing down till he's just floating in the air. His arms shake. That last explosion affected his arms the most, but nothing he can't shrug off in a few seconds. Oddly enough his chest hurts for a moment. He stares down at the monster that's getting on his feet. Unlike normal humans, his eyes are more than capable of seeing the dust flowing out of his injury, and the thin layer of fire around him turns green briefly, closing the wound on his arm as before.

His expression furrows, and tries to remember if he ever read about a creature that resembles the one he's facing. He shakes his head to get rid of needless thoughts. _That's more of Georg's area of expertise._

He sends an orb towards the ground, and within seconds he teleports. The monster jumped to ground level.

Both stare down at each other, but it's the Monster that's panting, and the fire around him grows but not with the same power as before.

But before Cao Cao could charge against his weaponless opponent, Asgore materializes another trident.

A small smirk plays on the Hero's lips, _The most noteworthy battles are never easy._

They rush at each other, and their clash of holy and determination trying to overpower the other, but that ends as the entire earth shakes and a white explosion follows.

 **[~*~]**

Undyne isn't furious, she's livid! Earth explodes and trees shatter every time she swings her blue spear. To make matters worse, the swordsman that could belong in one of Alphys' documentaries is still grinning.

Despite every time their weapons clash, she pushes him back several meters.

She knows she left the skeleton brothers behind, but Sans is there, and Papyrus isn't weak despite his cheerful demeanor. So the fish monster isn't worried. No, she has other things to worry about: Alphys and the two children. The former is a brilliant scientist but not a fighter. While the latter are two **children!** She knows Frisk can stall with their dodging. But for how long? And she knows the kid is a great talker since they managed to befriend every monster they faced—including her. But this people didn't care what the kid had to say and went straight to attack! This is the kind of humans Undyne has been training to fight against.

He uses his sword as a shield—its dark blade looks too big to be carrying in his hands. Yet he manages it. A red glow surrounds it and leaves a streak of light every time it moves. The cross-guard is wide and has a curved form.

Her weapon once again loses shape as it connects, and the swordsman's back connects with a tree. It nearly topples over, most of its roots forced to be uprooted, and its bark falls over from the multiple cracks.

"Ha hah ha ha!"

Undyne growls at the audacity of the human. He doesn't even look like he's in pain!

She rushes forward, and in a beat she's in front of him to stab, but he rolls to the side.

Her weapon goes through the tree with no resistance. She swings her arm to free it and destroys a good portion of the tree.

The human jumped back the moment he could and creates distance.

She growls. Dozens of spears form around her, all lined up and aiming at him.

At this, he grins. "Now you're making this interesting!" He sheathes his sword and gets a hold of another. "Don't disappoint."

She sends all the spears. A gust rises the moment they're shot, leaving behind a trail of light from their speed.

He swings his new sword. **[Tyrfing]** , his voice echoes with some unknown power. Power emanates from the sword, and a flash of dark light is followed by an explosion that shakes the earth.

Undyne maintains her balance, and when the unnatural light fades, she isn't surprised by the destruction.

A cracked rocky terrain takes most of the space between them. Only the trees from the edges remain, but they have trails of smoke where several of their parts disintegrated.

And there's that sword of his. The only way to describe it is that it was made from an onyx slab. It's the size of a broadsword and double edged. A dark light around it pulses like a heartbeat. Undyne feels that killing intent trying to crumble her soul, but a roar of defiance echoes through her being.

She grits her sharp teeth as a faint breeze surrounds her. Her spear turns from blue to cyan before she rears it back. One leg back and she throws it with a greater strength than before.

But the silver swordsman doesn't look worried. He swings his sword with the speed to slash it.

The black light is challenged by cyan. They flash brighter before exploding. Georg is pushed back, and winces as his chest tightens in a painful knot, but it quickly passes.

His smile vanishes as a puzzled look emerge, only for it to be forgotten as the fish warrior is upon him.

She lunges with another cyan spear and he meets it with his sword. The demon sword nearly flew off his grasp. His feet dig into the ground as the weapons push closer to his chest.

Georg knew she was new spear is giving her a boost of some kind. No matter how much he tries to push forward, it's like trying to move a mountain.

And that's fine for him.

As he's being pushed back, a hole underneath his arm is ripped out. Another arm, but covered in silver scales. Instead of fingers, three draconic claws quickly grip another handle, **[Nothung]**.

Undyne can be brash and aggressive on a lot of her actions, but a gut feeling tells her to **Dodge**! Bits of earth shatter as she jumps back with all her might, and a dark blade flashes into existence.

Only when she lands does she appraise the new weapon. It looks thin compared to the one of rocky appearance. It's one-edged, possesses no cross-guard, and its onyx surface gleams with every movement.

Something feels off. She looks around but sees nothing out of the ordinary, then she looks down at her spear. "What the hell!" Or what's left of her spear.

The upper part has been cut, very close to her hand too. But what left her dumbfounded is that it cut through cyan magic without any resistance.

"Haha ha hah!" She's brought out of her stupor, and sees him wearing a prideful smirk. "If the power of **[Tyrfing]** isn't enough, then **[Nothung's]** sharpness would do the trick."

That tone and his relaxed attitude are grinding her nerves. The shatters the spear in her iron grip, and creates a blue one. "Stop hiding behind your swords and fight!"

"Then start being a challenge."

 _That does it!_ " _AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"_ The wind around her picks up as she raises her spear to point at the heavens. A wall of spears manifests behind her, a layer of wind growing around them.

He looks at the so-called threat with amusement. "Can you do more?"

She yells through gritted fangs. "You asked for it!" Dozens more start appearing, but instead of collecting on the wall, they slowly encircle the human. About halfway, fewer start appearing. The strain of summoning so many at once causes her to sweat, and her soul starts feeling fragile from spreading her magic thin, but she doesn't relent.

Through the fire the strain is causing her body, another one burns in her soul. The creation of her spears picks up. Their sharp end aiming at him from all angles.

"Hey!" His gaze wanders back to hers. Her spear turns green, and she swings it to unleash an energy slash.

He lets go of his two-handed style to unsheathe a different sword. Its blade is a polished silver with a white shine, and its silver cross-guard is covered in several runes.

The swordsman swings when it's in reach, but his attack phases through. "Huh?" His eyebrows raise as it passes through his waist with no effect-

An odd feeling pulls at his chest, so when he looks down, the bizarre sight of a cartoonish green heart.

Before he could contemplate on this, Undyne's yell reminds him of his situation. "Face it _head_ _on_!"

She swings her lone spear and prompts the others to fire.

For every spear shot, another replaces it, and the wind screeches from the culmination of all the weapons.

And at the center, the silver swordsman becomes a whirlwind with his two demon and one holy blades.

It's a cacophony of noises, and as the hero soon discovers, he's stuck in one spot but otherwise is able to turn. He doesn't have time to question what type of curse or spell it may be or be skewered from all sides.

Seconds tick to almost thirty, any surviving trees has been destroyed, and craters start forming from the continuous assault. Undyne feels the wellspring of power beginning to fade, and once again musters her willpower to continue.

With her attention diverted, she doesn't see her spear gain a red tint, and most importantly, a single _white_ bead of sweat rolls down her cheek.

Amongst the blue spears, yellow ones spawn.

The hero notices this, but he awaits it in anticipation. Not a single spear has touched him, and when one of them is in range, he attacks it like the rest, but as he's about to split it in half, it darts around him in a flash.

His eyes widen, realizing the attack is now on his back. He makes the harshest spin, letting the yellow spear scrape across the back of his blazer. His swords continue to destroy spears, but the sudden movement leaves him exposed for one spear to strike him behind his leg.

It shatters, and his pants has a new hole with blood slowly seeping out from the cut skin. If not for the magic protecting his clothing, his leg would've been skewered.

Another second and another volley of spears are cut down. He sees another yellow spear approaching from his left, so this time he swings on his opposite side, and destroys it as it after it reappears. But his rhythm goes off as another yellow spear repositions itself, now aiming for his hip.

He dodges instinctively by doing a sharp twist, but instead blue spears attack his shoulder, back and wrist.

He corrects his form and resumes his defense. But his eyes catch sight of more yellow spears approaching, and the green soul still remains.

A savage grin takes over. His clothes rip again, and another draconic arm comes out. Faster than before, he pulls out a new demonic sword, **[Balmung]**.

A hurricane comes out to life, shredding to pieces all spears caught in its current.

Seeing how this form of attack is not working, Undyne stops creating more, and almost instantly her being is starting to fill with unfiltered energy. With every breath, a small gust surrounds her. The lance she's holding faintly pulses red like a heartbeat and her lone eye starts shining that color.

The violent winds around the hero start dying down, and there he stands with an all too eager grin. Parts of his clothes are torn with blood seeping out.

In his new hand is a new sword: the blade itself resembles to a fencing sword, with its cross-guard traveling in an arc to connect with the pommel.

"That was something else. I'm quite used to explosive arrows, but yours are the most unique I faced. It's a real shame you aren't a swordsman, otherwise I would be enjoying myself a lot more."

She readies her stance. "I don't need a sword to take down a wannabe hero!"

He lets out a bark of laughter. "That's rich coming from a monster. But at least it's different from the usual banter of pleading for their lives. It gets more annoying when they try to offer me something, be it money, power, even women at some point, thinking it might work."

Undyne was about to snarl back a reply, but stops as his soul turns from green to his natural color: yellow. The trait of justice. _A wannabe hero with a justice soul…damn irony._

What's more, its shine isn't as strong as the one Asgore kept under the castle, and that was from a little kid of all things! With no outside interaction, the soul return inside him.

"So you call yourself a hero?" Those words feel like acid in her mouth.

"It's what I was created for," he says while shrugging. "And Cao Cao said that if I stayed as one, I will live through the challenges my ancestor once did."

That answer irks her. "So you're just doing this so you can kill people?"

"All I'm doing is fulfilling my duties as a hero and eradicating evil. If I can enjoy it while doing so, then it's all the better." He ends it with a tone of pride.

"What kind of poor excuse is that!?" He raises an eyebrow at her outburst. "You attack us because you think we're evil!? What kind of hero does that!? A Fake one, that's who!" A memory pops in the forefront of her mind.

 _She's back in her full armored suit, running on a cliffside while throwing dozens of spears at a kid dashing over a wooden pathway._

She can taste hypocrisy in her lips, and it's worse than Papyrus' spaghetti.

At least his smile has dimmed down, and there's an undertone of anger in his voice. "What would you know? Don't tell me you fancy yourself as a hero?"

She can't help but grin. He looks even more upset. "Fancy? I'm one! Because only a true hero will admit when they made a mistake, which is more what I can say about a phony like yourself!" If it wasn't for Frisk, she would still view **all** humans as her enemies, but now she knows some humans are ok.

He didn't seem to take in too kindly her outburst, because two more draconic arms pop out. With his human arms, that's a total of six arms, and for reasons Undyne can't understand, his presence as well as the swords, just increased.

He unsheathes the remaining two. The double-edged with a blood-red aura, and his last one **[Dáinsleif]** : its blade appears crocked in form, and has several spikes protruding out. It's cross-guard has the form of twisted roots with thorns covering the lower part of the blade. The cold mist surrounding it gives Undyne a basic idea of what that blade is.

"If I can, I usually play around because just killing you monsters has become boring. That's why I limit the strength of **[Twice Critical]** , so congratulations, no other monster has made me want to kill them so badly as you right now, **[Gram]**."

A fiery red aura encircles the double-edged sword. This one sword easily dwarves the presence of the rest. Its killing intent is nothing like before. It feels like fangs are sinking all around Undyne's body, attempting to tear her apart in a slow and agonizing manner.

And the same burning presence inside her lets her push through the feeling. She clenches her grip on her spear that's nearly fully red at this point.

He swings that sword at a speed Undyne could barely catch.

And what comes out is a tidal wave of darkness and blood-red mixed together. It reaches wide enough to destroy the trees that her spears and his explosions didn't destroy, and before it touches the ground, it starts melting under the raw energy radiating out of it. Even before it got too close to Undyne, she can feel its acidic energy around her.

It only got worse when she had to confront it. Her battle cry got swallowed by the storm. Her spear, now a red beacon, is thrust with all her might.

The fierce wind is like a whiplash on her face. She's steadily pushed back, before she forcefully digs her feet in the ground. Now cracks appear beneath her from the force trying to push her back. Her arms not faring better as her skin starts turning into specks of dust.

But Undyne won't give up. She _will_ hold her ground! Despite her body feeling like it will crumble, _I'm not losing to this lame excuse of a hero!_ She feels her spear cracking under the pressure. _DAMMIT!_

But at the end, it's not her willpower that gives in, but the amount of power she can control. The malicious energy slowly closes around her-

 _NO!_ But her soul refuses to crumble. Even when the abyss of darkness stares at her face-

 _Undyne is standing in one of the many large caverns of Waterfall. She's in her full armor suit but with a large cut from her shoulder to her hip. Dust floating out as the attack dug deep into her skin._

" _You'll destroy them all won't you?" she asks with a grim tone at the child—if they can even be called that._

 _The 'child' looks at them with an amused smile, the layers of dust clinging to them like a second skin._

" _Monsters…Humans…Everyone… Everyone's hopes. Everyone's dreams. Vanquished in an instant," Undyne says through gritted fangs. Her body starts to break down._

" _But I WON'T let you do that." Even if her body breaks, her soul will refuse to follow._

 _Now more than ever, Undyne feels it is the time to prove that her King didn't make a mistake when naming her captain. Because if she doesn't kill them—or_ _ **it**_ _since no being should enjoy murdering this much-or stall it, then Alphys won't have the time to evacuate the civilians, and Asgore won't obtain the seventh soul before this creature kills the rest of their kind. She feels the weight of the situation upon her, but also what it represents. "Right now, everyone in this world…I can feel their hearts beating as one." Fighting through the pain, she grins at them, and a new feeling builds inside her. "And we all have ONE goal."_

 _The wind starts howling, and she's at the center. "To defeat YOU." It's at this moment that the 'child's' image glitches like static, and for a brief second is replaced by a paler skin with rosy cheeks. Where their eyes should be is now hollowed with a black void in them, and ink trailing down like tears. Then finally with that twisted visage of a smile._

 _But she won't be perturbed. "Human. No, WHATEVER you are. For the sake of the whole world…I, UNDYNE, will strike you down!"_

 _Her indominable determination finally takes form._

And everything falls into place. If the black mass of energy is a tornado, then the white light that surrounds her is a hurricane.

A white light pierces through the darkness. The silver swordsman first watches in confusion, then shock as a white dome cuts through **[Gram's]** attack.

He flips his grip on **[Dáinsleif]** and stabs it on the ground. Ice turns to glaciers that converge all around him as protection. It holds against whatever power the light is made of.

Inside he sees his defense quaver. Yet, he isn't afraid. Facing overwhelming power is something he's accustomed to. Back in his first months starting as a lone hero, or more specifically after he's escaped his prison from the church, everything was a challenge. He survived on his own, fought unsupervised against stray devils, weak to ones that reached High Class through skill, and mastering the weapons the church gave him. The last few months have been the most exciting after he joined Cao Cao's group: a new cast of enemies ready to be cut down, and finally he's getting the chance to become a Hero before he dies in a decade or so.

Once the monster's lightshow faded, he allows the ice to start crumbling.

Whatever remained of the previous scenery, it is truly gone. Now it's just a flattened rocky field for the two fighters.

Speaking of which, the sight of his opponent is the most peculiar he's ever seen.

A full suit of dark-silver armor has formed around her. The most special additions would be the two steel plates hanging on the side of her thighs. Her shoulder guard is in the form of three long spikes with a slight curve upwards. White gloves that almost extends to her elbows holds a spiritual radiance that makes them seem blessed in some kind, and on its side there's a small red heart emblem. But the most eye-catching would be the red heart emblem on her chest plate. For him, it's almost like a coat of arms of some kind, but he can't fathom the idea as to what.

The monster wears no helmet, which makes her more intimidating. The yellow around her eyes is still present, but now there's a red glint in the center he's certain that it wasn't there before, and her eye that was covered by an eyepatch is gone. And from the hollow appearance of the eye socket, a white light flashes out with the form of a spear. That previous scowl has formed into a calm, sharp grin.

He grins back, forgetting his previous anger at the prospect of fighting a powerful monster. Before he was having fun, confident the monster couldn't harm him in any significant way, but now her presence is comparable to the few Ultimate Class Devils he's fought.

There's only one way to greet an opponent like this. "My name is Siegfried. Genetic descendant of Sigurd, and wielder of the sacred gear **[Twice Critical]**!" This causes the monster's grin to drift downwards and furrow her eyebrows. He chuckles. "It's respectful for heroes to share their names. Or were your previous words a bluff?"

"…Oh, I will tell you." There's a low growl in her voice. Her hands come together, and a blue spear comes to life. "But I will do it at the very end, because the last words I want you to hear, will be my name!"

A thunderclap of a storm surrounds her as a predatory grin takes over. A vast expanse of earth behind her explodes as she performs a single leap. Her spear's edge aimed for the swordsman's chest as she vanishes from his sight with her speed.

But Siegfried has already positioned **[Dáinsleif]** the moment her energy skyrocketed. With its blade aimed at the ground, a small glacier is created from the frostbite mist it emits.

It won't stop her, but will deter her. The glacier starts splitting in half right before he can sidestep, but somehow he manages as the monster emerges from his side.

A few ice shards cut into his skin and clothes. The roaring storm threatens to sweep him off his feet and trap him in its razor wind. That fanged smile would intimidate even a dragon—he should know, he faced one with Jeanne.

Yet, he wouldn't change this moment for anything in the world. For him, this is what a hero lives for. Facing impossible odds.

He swings **[Gram]** and **[Nothung]** on both sides. The former for its power and the latter for its cutting prowess. If she somehow manages to block both, Siegfried can always stab with **[Tyrfing]** and **[Balmung]**.

But that never happens for she swings, striking against **[Gram]**. He reels back immediately. His arm nearly pop out of its socket. He's forced to push with **[Nothung]** or get a deep gash on his chest.

He isn't able to do much as he's literally thrown backwards. His holy sword and **[Tyrfing]** punctures the ground and he uses it to slow to a stop.

Siegfried looks up, and sees the monster has leapt at him again. The explosion of wind is lesser than before, so he's able to react fast enough. With two demonic swords parallel with each other and pointing forward, a massive spear of wind is fired with a coat of subzero mist.

Undyne doesn't attempt to dodge it, and thrusts with her spear to tear it apart. It works. The wind around her protects her as the ground around her is torn by sharp gusts and coated in heavy layers ice. In consequence her momentum is halted.

Much to her chagrin, she's forced to take step after step, fighting against the opposing wind as she picks up her speed.

But by then Siegfried is ready. With the demonic blade still in the ground, a dark light flows in.

Undyne and a wide field around her is covered by a pillar of corrupted light. Only then does the swordsman allow himself to be thrown back by his own wind.

The light dies a second later, leaving behind a deep crater with its edges releasing smoke.

When Siegfried stops, he charges up **[Gram]** , and its blade starts to get shrouded in dark and red aura.

From the dark pit of the crater, a roar of wind shatters the earth around it. Undyne shots out, landing on solid ground with a heavy ***thunk***.

Now the wind around her is a hue of shiny red. With one hand up to neck level, the wind coalesces on her open palm. She grasps a silver thread and wills it into something akin to a bulkier spear with twice the length. Her grip only covers more than half the staff, and a miniature storm threatens to cut loose and tear the entire forest, but she smirks without a hint of fear.

Undyne moves one leg forward, and moves back her hand, ready to throw. Siegfried widens his stance, and bends his legs to better handle the upcoming explosion. **[Gram]** has already been pulled back for a full swing. The demonic energy on the blade extends around his body, overwhelming the presence of his other blades. The earth below him starts rumbling.

With both warriors staring down at each other, the tension is palpable. The air around them becomes denser with their respective magic.

Razor winds overflow from Undyne's spear, and the light around Siegfried starts darkening as if it's being absorbed. When these two opposing forces interact, cracks start appearing between them. Then a fissure erupts as the magical pressure fight for supremacy.

This does raise a question for Siegfried. _Is this strength her own?_ He saw no special relic on her person, and definitely not a sacred gear, so his thoughts drift to her probably been blessed by a god. That idea is shot down for in all their fight, her magic doesn't have that feel of divinity like Cao Cao's spear. Nor is it demonic or holy. It feels more…down to earth—the only words his mind can conjure.

His smile turns bitter. _I can't believe this, I'm jealous of a monster._ Histories of heroes are usually accompanied by a legendary weapon of some kind. Like his leader and his golden spear, and then other Heroes like Georg uses magic circles and runes to make up the difference in raw power. But in this case, _It's all coming from her._

" **Hey,** _ **Hero**_ **."** Power is laced in her words. He hears them with ease despite the howling winds around her. **"You wanted to know my name?"** Her lone eye shines a brilliant red. **"Well…here it is!"**

A flare of competitiveness is in his chest. **"My NAME."** His grip tightens in anticipation. **"IS."** They swing. **"UNDYYYYYYNE!"**

Those words are drowned with the collision. The power of her determination set on fighting evil and injustice is against the strongest demonic power bent on destruction. Red and black lightning lash out as the very earth trembles. Dark light on one side and ferocious red winds on the other, but that changes in an instant.

A white light starts breaking through both attacks, causing both warriors to look at it with confusion. Then it absorbs both attacks and expands alarmingly.

Undyne crosses her arms in front of her and another red tornado surrounds her. Siegfried is protected by a dark cocoon from the power of his demonic swords.

They're both engulfed in it, and it expands much farther than the damaged area of their fight. A massive shockwave uproots all trees it touches, and flings them at dangerous speeds while the earth in the artificial plane starts to crack.

* * *

Trees are torn apart and thrown haphazardly. Earthquakes destroy areas the shockwave didn't reach, wiping anything that resembled a peaceful forest.

Fights transpiring will shape the future. Powerful magic is being cast; top Longinus and sacred gears with subspecies balance breakers were up against magic from a species of monster that hasn't been seen for over a millennia.

A glorious battle indeed.

A battle that Heracles isn't a part of! His fist connect with a battered tree that's on top of him. His sacred gear sets off an explosion that shatters it into smoking pieces, but that still doesn't fix the situation he's in.

He's lying face down on the ground, not because he was injured or tripped, but because of the skeletons' magic. His entire body is coated in blue. Blue bones that penetrated his flesh without drawing blood or causing pain, and nearly forty to fifty are stabbed around his body. And a weird cartoonish blue heart is on his chest—the last time he checked before being slammed into the ground via magic-altering gravity.

And what's worse for the hero, the tall lanky skeleton had been going on about mercy, how humans and monsters can be friends if both try hard enough, and how anger can be used more constructively in the kitchen using Undyne's patented culinary cuisine—like he cares. But as it stands, he was unable to do much but listen. Using his **[Balance Breaker]** was useless as the missiles got intercepted by bones.

Several meters ahead is a dome composed of bones, but now it's full of cracks from the explosion. A second later it disintegrates into nothingness. And there stood the two skeletons that are now the ire of the hero.

The taller one's eye sockets furrow—how? The hero has no idea—and looks at the shorter one with worry. "SANS, I THINK WE SHOULD CHECK ON UNDYNE. NOT THAT I DOUBT HER STRENGTH, BUT I THINK SHE WAS TOO CLOSE TO THAT EXPLOSION."

The shorter skeleton raises his head at him. The only indication he's paying attention since he has his hoodie up. "Meh, it's Undyne we're talking about. She's probably on her way here, dragging the other guy by the foot or something."

"I CAN SEE HER DO THE LAST PART, BUT WON'T SHE HAVE TROUBLE DOING THE FORMER IF SHE'S WOUNDED…OR WORSE!?"

"Well..." His head shifts to the downed hero. "I guess you can go and check on her. I can keep our pal here entertained with my humerus jokes." The skeleton's head tilts to the head, and for whatever reason, Heracles feels like he has just been winked at.

"SANS!" The surprisingly expressive skeleton glares at the smaller one. "THIS IS SERIOUS!" Concern moves over his features. "AT FIRST I WASN'T WORRIED BECAUSE I HAD FAITH IN MY FRIENDS, BUT WHILE I STILL DO, I FEEL IT WAS A MISTAKE NOT TO GO TO THEM SOONER."

If Heracles had to choose between being unconscious and bloodied, or listening to them, he'll choose the former.

It's then he notices something from the sides. He grins. "Don't think you can relax." Both of their gazes are on him. "Your weird magic saved you this time. So what? No fights are the same!" They look at the sides, catching sight of the fog closing in on him. "Next time we will be having _real_ fun."

The fog engulfs him, darkening his features before fading to reveal him gone.

"And that's that," Sans says with a casual tone. "Maybe now would be a good time to check on Undyne."

"YEAH," Papyrus speaks in a downcast tone.

His brother looks up. "Hey chin up. Next time we see him, you might turn him into a friend."

"YEAH!" Cheer returns to his voice. "YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT BROTHER." He strikes a pose: a fist on his chest, another on his hip bone, his scarf flutters despite the lack of wind. "I SHOULDN'T WAVER JUST BECAUSE I FAILED ONCE. ON OUR NEXT ENCOUNTER, I WILL TRY A DIFFERENT APPROACH AND ACQUIRE HIS FRIENDSHIP!" He leaves his pose and proceeds to run while mindful of the scattered broken wood and broken field. "I WILL CHECK ON UNDYNE. AND SANS, DON'T GET INTO ANY TROUBLE!"

Many think it would be irresponsible for Papyrus to leave Sans alone, or vice-versa. The former knows his brother can get in or out of any situation, and the latter has a promise to keep.

Sans sighs in relief. "Sorry, paps, but trouble is exactly where I'm headed." He removes his hoodie to reveal his left eye socket, an eye that's flashing cyan and yellow.

He blinks out of existence and reappears at the 'edge' created by the fog. He peers into it, and just like before, it's a jigsaw puzzle with multiple paths branching out, crisscrossing with one another in either twisted or straight turns. Sans sees the end where he wants to be, but not the path that leads him there.

 _Not the most complicated thing I've ever done._ The machine underneath his house is proof of that. The skeleton proceeds to walk without a second thought.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this took unbelievably long. I'm so sorry for that, but hey, here it is!**

 **So how does everyone like some of the explanations in this chapter about how Monsters' magic works in my version of this universe-since many authors have slight differences.**

 **If someone has any complains, please put as constructive instead of flame, and those of you that enjoyed this chapter, please mention it in the review. Next time will be the conclusion of the first clash between Heroes & Monsters! Then afterwards...I will have some fun with the supernatural side of the world.**

 **Edit (6/7/2018): Change to Asgore's dialogue, it's much better now. Grammar fixes.**


	5. A Much Needed Reunion (Part 4)

_Frisk_ \- Thinking/Flashback

[~*~] – time change

"Frisk" - Dialogue

 _"Frisk"_ / _*Frisk_ – Chara talking through Frisk/mentally communicating to Frisk

 _[…]_ – Chara & Frisk's voice overlapping.

* * *

Pain is at the forefront of her mind when she regains awareness. Despite her body being intact, her insides can be described as a molten core that's threatening to melt her from inside out.

Every little shift causes a searing jolt to travel through her body. Her vision clouded with black splotches. The little willpower she has left makes it a struggle to stay awake.

Only now does Undyne become aware that she's on her knees. The ground looks flat but without imperfections like it should be. The armor on her legs has cracks all over the place, and the pieces that fell apart dissolved into dust, revealing jeans and tank top she has underneath.

 _Get up…_ Her enemy might've survived. Alphys is still in danger. The kids are still in danger. There are still more enemies to be defeated.

The metal on her hands creak as she stretches her fingers. It feels as if nails are stuck deep between her joints, but she fights through the pain. Placing them firmly on the ground only increases the feeling, but it's something she expected.

Undyne pushes herself up, and straightening her legs brings out a new feeling: nothingness. Her mudded and pained mind can barely grasp why, but a moment of clarity is what she needs to notice that her body is nearing its limit, and her limitless magic pool is detrimental to her weakened condition.

But she refuses to be held back even by her own body. Despite losing the sensation in her legs, she still manages to stand. Her breathings are long and deep, and unlike before, her armor carries a weight that constantly fights her efforts.

She's tired, yet she's full of energy. Her mind feels like it wants to shut down, but her body moves on her commands despite the difficulties.

Her eyes trace over of what remains of their battlefield. It's now a giant crater that can be confused for a meteor crash. Steam rise from many spots, partially clouding the area.

"Heh ***Cough-Cough*** that was…amazing…" Her eyes see a dark figure in the smoke. "This is…the first time…I used **[Gram]** at full power." The steam parts to reveal Siegfried's figure, and he doesn't look that bad. His clothes look ruffled up. There are multiple tears around it, and blood slowly seeps out. The biggest difference are the empty presence of his swords. Gone are the raw and malignant power each one emitted. All six of his arms hang limply.

"Wow, all I did was scratch your armor." His smile turns into a grin. "You were very strong, so I will take that as an achievement." She doesn't understand that, and it must show on her face. "I know when I've been defeated. I'm nearly dry in magic, and my body is refusing to move. I concede this battle to you, and thanks for listening to me talk. Looks like I gave Georg enough time to rescue me."

Undyne takes notice of a blanket of fog creeping from behind him. She takes a step forward, but her body locks in place instantly.

"Undyne, was it?" The fog is already halfway up his body. "I hadn't forgotten how you sullied my title as a hero. Next time I will settle the score. Until then, don't die."

With those final words, the fog covers him completely before parting, revealing only air.

The threat is gone, so nothing can stop her from helping her friends against the other heroes, but she was already on her limit, and seeing her foe leave is a small relief that dissolves her weak concentration.

Her armor crumbles into dust. No injury is present on her skin, her clothes don't even look ruffled, and the light emitted from her eye disappeared. It now match her right eye, but colored a pearl white than black. The burning sensation is still inside her.

There's no more pain, but the control on her body slips. Her knees connect to the ground, and her hands barely keep her upper body up. As she pants, white beads of sweat starts pouring from her face. When it drips on the ground, she stares at them with confusion. Something starts rising from her throat. She can offer no resistance as she pukes.

Small tears flow from her eyes because of the action, blinking them way shows her a white pool of liquid.

Undyne is too tired to think, too tired to feel. Somewhere in her mind she knows she shouldn't, but her eyes close, and falls forward. A splash soon after.

* * *

Pieces of shattered trees litter the area. Random earth fragments have risen from the ground, making the ground look broken.

Beneath a pile of broken wood, a white light goes through the cracks before it explodes outwards.

 _So, Siegfried was pushed that far._ Cao Cao raises to his feet. His seven orbs of light float behind him. His clothes has small tears. A bit of dirt smudges his skin, but no injuries to speak of.

The Hero's leader looks around, but doesn't see the-

A fire burst from the far right catches his attention. Ashes are swept in the breeze as the Monster King rises. His golden armor has cracks, and his purple cape lost its pristine shine while having several shredded holes. On his left shoulder his armor is completely missing, with dust covering his white fur. The monster's face is tightened in pain, and his fiery aura is gone.

Cao Cao readies himself, but drops the stance as he senses Georg's magic. He looks behind him, and sure enough, a wall of fog is slowly approaching him. He frowns deeply. _A forced retreat._

Despite being the leader, Georg is the one responsible for getting everyone in and out, so he left it to the Magician's discretion if they have to retreat. Before it was more of a precaution. Now looks like it came in handy.

He rests the shaft on his shoulder and proceeds to walk to the fog.

Asgore furrows his brows. "Are you running away?" It's an honest question considering what he and his kind has been subjected to, but the human didn't seem to take it kindly.

Killing intent is leaking off him. His head turns to send a glare at the monster over his shoulder. "Don't misunderstand, _Monster_ ," he speaks back with harsh venom. "We'll retreat for now, but heroes never give up." He redirects his gaze, and resumes walking into the fog. His figure darkened before disappearing.

The King still keeps a tight hold on his weapon, but is relieved he doesn't have to fight any longer. That shockwave from earlier weakened the Determination he cloaked himself in.

He thinks over his options, but doesn't take long to decide to check over Toriel since she's closer. He moves as a blur to where his wife was conducting her fight.

* * *

Mass destruction of terrain. C _heck._

Powerful magic from beings he has little knowledge of. _Check._

Immediately commanded his Sacred Gear for an emergency retreat. _Check._

Georg isn't prideful like Heracles. If he makes a mistake, he acknowledges it and tries his best to correct. Before the fight began, he made the assumption that these creatures weren't that strong because the natural presence they excluded wasn't much if at all. Though he was still cautious and assumed they were suppressing their true strength for when they needed it. Yet, even after the monster he's fighting is clearly not holding back, he can't get a clear reading on _how_ strong she is.

He can only make guesses based on the attacks alone, but the scholar side of him is frustrated for the lack of information.

 _I will make due with the little I learned today._ _Perhaps the others_ _learned something useful._

There's just a small problem with that. His body can be described as bloodied and beaten. And the crack in his glasses bothers him more than he thought, as his vision is hindered with double-vision.

Even with his body in this condition, his magic was always dependent on mental control.

A white light envelopes him before he's teleported near the fog. He makes it envelop him quickly, for the precarious situation of the other three heroes—Heracles, Jeanne and Siegfried.

As he leaves, another being is already stirring. White flames burst underneath a pile of shattered trees, sending the pieces everywhere.

Toriel takes in a heavy breath as she stands, the air being knocked out of her by the blast. Her clothes are slightly torn, but mostly ruffled. Her narrowed eyes scan the surroundings for the human, but she no longer finds a trace of his energy. Only the remains of a broken land.

Her fists shake as her grip tightens, leading to a trail of dust drifting off from them. It stops as she slowly unclenches them. The tension of her body leaves her, and her body shakes as her paws find their way to her eyes.

A choke sob escapes her, and tears run down even when her hands attempt to hold them back.

 _I failed. S_ he failed to defeat the mage.

 _I failed. S_ he failed to protect her children.

 _I failed. S_ he failed as a mother before, and she failed as a mother again.

Similar thoughts drift in her mind, and the worst are the images her mind conjures of her children. Some are of them injured, with wounds ranging from simple scratches to bleeding horribly and missing limbs while lying lifeless on the ground. The worst are of those Heroes kidnapping them for whatever reason, and she's helpless to do anything.

"TORI!"

Her head snaps to the side. Her ears already recognizing the voice of her husband, and her puffy red eyes take in the damaged state of his armor.

He stops next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Tori, are you hurt-"

Asgore gets interrupted as she throws herself at him. Toriel's arms encircle his neck, and her wet cheek presses on his armored chest. A soothing warmness emanates from it, causing her to wail more openly.

Caught off guard, he can only wrap his arms around her back.

"I…I can't!" she chokes out through her sobs, and her ex-husband can only tighten his hold for support. "I can't lose another child! Not again!"

His breath hitches. The earlier battle required his full focus—the wounds he obtained prove how close it was for him. But now his mind has time to wander on what ifs.

None of them are pleasant for the old King, but now he understands her pain. The problem remains that he doesn't know what to say to ease her pain. They're stuck here, and with a quick scan on the fog, it's easy to tell they won't break through it so easily in their current state.

And not to forget the blond knight that left earlier, so many things could've happened while they were fighting. He shakes those thoughts away. Toriel needs him, but what can convince her? Alphys is a genius scientist, but she's no fighter. Asriel may be a boss monster, but he's still a kid, and Frisk-

His eyes widen. _Hopefully that works._

"They're fine, Tori. Frisk is with them."

That got a reaction, though not the one he expected.

She takes a step back, and even with puffy eyes, her glare still holds the intensity she's famous for. He starts sweating.

"They're just a kid Asgore! What do you expect they can do!?"

"You should put more faith in them." He's surprised he found his voice. "They're the kid that managed to befriend every monster, and from what Undyne told me, defeated her without taking a single hit. They're not weak," he ends with more confidence than he started.

He feels guilty for putting his hopes on them, but yet, there is truth in his words. The previous six children never reached his castle, but Frisk succeeded were everyone else failed.

They reached his castle without killing a single Monster! Then minutes afterwards, the barrier went down and the other human souls disappeared. At the time he didn't question it since his people have the chance to finally be free, and the children's souls no longer have to be trapped.

Toriel looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she steps back and wipes tears off her face.

 _I should be glad she didn't refute me._ He still wants to make her feel better, but how. A Monster's name comes to mind. "Tori, we need to gather with the others."

She looks up at him questioningly. Her eyes narrowed and red from crying.

"There's one Monster that can help us."

The anger leaves her eyes for fragile hope to fill them. "Really? But who?"

He smiles, confident in his answer. "He might not look it, but I know that Sans can do something with his Shortcuts."

 **[~*~]**

This is easily Alphys' second worst day. Fear is a weak word to describe how she's feeling.

Shock at being trapped in another magical barrier of sorts. Surprised at feeling the amount of killing intent from the humans. Scared at being separated and having no clue to what's happening on the other side of the fog. Useless at being able to do nothing against the blonde knight.

Then there's Asriel. Not once did she consider she would be terrified of a Monster, but the little Prince proved her wrong in so many levels. If not for Frisk, she might've turned to dust from the pressure of his killing intent. If that wasn't enough, Frisk emitted malice at a level she didn't think it was humanly possible.

As the Royal Scientist, she had the…unfortunate job to study the children's soul at every possible angle to find (if possible) a break through the barrier faster. And she also read the notes of her previous predecessor. The only way Frisk could've emitted that level of hatred would've been if they killed hundreds to thousands so their soul would be tainted black. But the level Frisk showed outdone any calculations Alphys has done in the past.

She had a vague idea of what their level of determination was, but they completely shattered the power level she set on them. If they hadn't laid witness to the power they were emitting, then the lingering magic would do the trick.

Just standing at the edge where the malice is the strongest, breathing has become a labor.

But all that pales in this last few seconds. Asriel, no more than ten years old, walked straight into this hazard zone for Monsters, and still managed to talk to Frisk! But her breath hitched the moment she saw their arm move. Before she could even blink, that red blade became embedded on their hand that moved at the same speed, protecting Asriel in the process.

She wants to ask why they attacked him, or why they blocked the attacked instead of halting it.

Asriel's scream snaps her out of her trance. " _FRISK!"_

Without thinking about it, she rushes in. About four steps in, she places a hand to her mouth.

 ***Cough-Cough***

There's a painful knot in her chest, and her legs start to shake. Through the pain and blurry gaze, she still manages to see Asriel holding onto an unconscious Frisk, and the red liquid dripping from their hand.

She strengthens her resolve and steps forward. Her stomach churns and threatens to spill everything. She takes another step. Breathing is difficult, as she rushes forward with a slight stumble.

Once she's close, she gives a passing glance at the blonde knight. The older human is laying on the ground unconscious with most of the damage done to her clothes and armor. Small drops of blood leak from open wounds. The most prominent being the red line going down her forehead.

Asriel is laying Frisk on the ground. Their hands are free since the knife dissipated with their consciousness. The prince's words come out quick and incoherent. His eyes wide and darting all over Frisk.

Who, now that Alphys has gotten closer, is in much worse shape than she thought. Their killing intent quite literally took form as two streams of black liquid now coat most of their cheeks. Their breathing are quick and shallow. Their hand has a large gash now on their palm and spilling blood—there's a chance it's permanently scarred due to magic being involved. Then there's a faint, pulse of malice coming from the human. With every beat it grows stronger, and her body feels as if it's being slowly grinded.

"A-Asriel ***Cough***." her hand moves to her mouth, but this time through her fingers, dust flies out. _I-I need to get out!_

The Prince looks up at her, tears starting to spill from his eyes as he looks at her with a hopeful expression.

More of her body threatens to be turned to dust and coughed out, but she wills it back into her body. "I can ***Cough*** he-help Frisk, but we need to ***Cough-Cough-COUGH*** " That last one has dust flying through her claws as she tried covering her mouth.

Asriel furiously wipes the tears with his sleeves, and picks Frisk in a bridal style. Alphys has an easier time getting out of the death zone than in.

But the better she got, she immediately got worse at noticing Frisk's blood leaving a small trail.

Once outside of the 'dead zone'—as she dubbed it—a thought comes to mind. _Asriel. He…was in there but…_ Alphys noticed they have stopped. Asriel lays down Frisk on his lap, and as he checks over them. She sees a black stain on his cheek, bits of dust drifting about.

She almost reaches out to start healing the injury or tell him about it. Her mind still running so many questions inside her head till she remembers Frisk—a child with small stature and losing blood.

She goes on her knees next to them, and once she has a soft grasp on their hand, while doing her best to ignore the hot liquid, green electricity comes to life.

While, she's still an average at healing, every monster learns healing, but not everyone is at the same level.

Alphys can feel the wound close as the small stream of blood stops. She removes her hands, but stops a few inches as small strings of blood connect them. The intense urge to barf resurfaces to the point where she can feel it coming up her throat. The anime she watched didn't prepare her for this!

Her small claws twitch as pulls her hands to her sides, snapping the fragile links. The problem is her hands are now stained red. She swallows the bile down with much effort and starts swiping madly at the bottom of her lab coat.

She starts breathing heavily as she brings her hands up. They're now smeared red, and for a brief instant she fears that it's permanently there, but then she calms down and remembers she can wash that off.

She blinks, and realizes they're trembling. Alphys takes a breath then exhales. She does so again but takes longer and exhales longer. She repeats a few times until she's relatively calm.

Moving her hands down, she takes notice that Asriel is holding onto Frisk's healed hand. One hand under their palm while the other one is gently grazing over the new scar. His eyes are downcast as a tear fall from each eye. And bits of dust are still drifting from her stained cheek.

"A-Asriel…" He doesn't look at her, but grunts. "Do…you need me to…?" She points at his cheek.

He looks at her with a confused look before he touches his cheek. Then moves it in front of his face to see the black liquid on his paw, but all he says is, "Oh." No fear or surprise on his face, just annoyance. Asriel wipes it off on his shirt, and starts rubbing his paw on his cheek to get as much as possible before rubbing it off again on his shirt.

Once more, Alphys is at a loss of words at the ease Asriel takes the corruption off. _It's like…he has high resistance._ She continues watching with morbid fascination until he finishes. While there are still some black spots, what's been removed shows gray skin.

She almost offers her aid, but then his very fur regrows to normal in seconds. She pauses, and Asriel gives her a neutral look before focusing back on Frisk. His eyes regain a softness as he resumes caressing Frisk's scared hand.

Alphys just takes a minute to herself and tries to make sense of everything that's happened. Yet, she gets only more confused with a headache starting to form. Asriel resisting killing intent and even regenerating without activating his magic. Then Frisk with an inhumane amount of malice.

In any other day, she would be using the equipment in her personal lab to restore Asriel to full health. As for Frisk…she knows of one good way to extract the vile residing inside their soul, but she rather not use those if she can help it. So far Frisk has stabilized, if/when they return to her lab, she will need to do a full body scan for any injury she can't see, and to examine their soul more closely.

Then she realizes the former won't work. First off, Frisk is a human with organs. She's got tools that can perform X-ray, but Alphys is not sure if that's enough to perform the job right. Not to mention the most she knows of human biology is from her anime.

If her healing magic was just better she could just-her eyes widen, and she almost slaps a hand to her face. _Monster food works on them, but do I have any?_

She takes out her own phone and starts checking her inventory. A quick glance shows:

 **[Inventory]**

 **-Instant Noodles**

 **-Mew Mew Kissie Cutie Manga**

 **-Mini Mettaton(3X)**

And that's where her initial planned failed after a few seconds. Her grip on her phone tightens, but slackens a second later. She shoves it into the pocket of her coat and sighs in frustration.

 _Think Alphys! THINK!_ _I can try healing again, but it won't be as optimal. Maybe Asriel will know something…_ that idea is dismissed because otherwise, the young Boss Monster would've done it himself. She takes a shaky breath, beads of sweet running down her forehead and traveling down her cheeks. _Don't panic. There has to be something I can do before the rest get back. If they get back-_ she shakes the negative thoughts away. Stress, and jumbled thoughts pile in her mind as she tries to conjure a solution to help Frisk. _Frisk! They have a phone!_ And within, something she can use!

She reaches over to one of their pockets. But her body is stopped cold as a wave of killing intent fills the air. With shaking eyes, she stares at a piercing gaze of the young boss monster.

"What are you doing?" he says it in a blank tone that matches his expression.

Alphys relives the fear from before as killing intent fills the air.

She swallows, realizing how dry her throat is. "I…I am j-just looking f-for h-healing item in F-F-Frisk's phone."

His eyes that showed an undertone of anger are replaced by a tired gaze as they turn back onto Frisk. "Sorry," he mumbles.

She breathes out a sigh of relief. _It's official, I need to tell the Asgore and the Queen about this._ She just hopes they don't panic too much when knowing their son can release killing intent.

Resuming back on task, she checks the pockets and finds the phone on the second. She can't help but smile widely. After a few taps, she opens the storage list and with a quick scan on the list, she pauses.

As the Royal Scientist, she's privy of almost everything: every dangerous prototype, social events she never gets the chance to go, and developments when expanding hospitable land. Yet, she's never heard of the item called _Last Dream_.

She wanted to say it's some random item from the Temmies, but when looking over its descriptions: The goal of "determination".

She looks at the list for something else she knows and can be used, but the _Last Dream_ fills over half his inventory space, and she doesn't want to know where they got a _Real Knife_.

Seeing no options, she summon the item out. Putting the phone in her own pockets, she examines the item.

At first glance it's a four pointed yellow star. That floats…that last part is important. She stares as she cross-reference this item and its physical details to all the ones she knows, and comes up with nothing.

Aside from its origins and what its uses are, the biggest question she has is, _where did Frisk get this?_ She already knew the human was special after they befriended every monster without killing them, but this is something else entirely. Just having this on her hand is enough to feel its essence that resembles determination, and that only adds to her confusion and intrigue.

Another question pops up. _Can I use this to help Frisk?_ Determination can be used for anything if correctly applied. That's why she used on the fallen monsters—and that ended in such a horrible failure— **but** , this one isn't as potent.

She slowly bring her other hand next, and shifts the other one so she's holding it between them. If she can get this to react to her healing magic-

"Where did you get that!?" Asriel's voice gets her out of her musing.

She looks frightened as she thinks that the young prince will direct more ire at her, but that feeling is put down by the look of recognition in his eyes.

"Y-You know o-of this?"

"Yes," his response was immediate.

And while this raises—even more—questions, there's something that needs answering. "D-Do you…know ho-how to u-use this?" She wished she would stop stuttering, but the goat monster has her on edge.

He blinks once before focusing intently on the starlight. He leans forward and snatches it with a swipe.

"Eep!" She falls back and lands on her butt, with her hands supporting her. Alphys watches as he holds it near Frisk's chest. Then crushes it.

She gasps, a sinking feeling of horror grows in her chest as rainbow sparkles fall on the human. Their body glows, and the tears on their clothing begin to stitch up, dirt is removed, the blood stains vanishes and now their left hand has a faded but healed scar.

At this point, Alphys has officially lost count on the number of times she's been surprised.

Asriel exhales, then wears a relaxed smile. "Frisk, you had me worried. But it's alright now. I won't leave your side."

Both her hands cover her mouth as her eyes sparkle. _Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! This is like the final season of Mew Mew when the main villain turns good and-_ She shakes those thoughts away as this is really not the time and place. So she lays there on her knees, basking in the fact that something good happened! If only the negatives didn't outweigh it.

She looks to her left and still feels the 'zone of death', and on her other side is something she passed by after the shield dropped down: a katana. She's seen enough anime to know they usually belong to samurais, but if a knight uses it, perhaps it's special. _I did feel magic coming from it._

Not wanting to leave such a dangerous object around, she gets up and approaches it. Through her body, she feels the latent energy from the weapon, but it doesn't feel as threatening now that it's unwielded.

The only item that could beat it in power would be Asgore's trident. Now only five feet away, she takes her own phone out, and with a few simple button presses, her sword disappears and a new item is added on her list.

Right now it's just a **[Katana]** , due to there being no information recorded in her phone.

She pockets it before turning around. _I'm going to need Sans to deal with the 'dead zone'._ While it's not a problem now as it can be avoided, but they will have to get rid of it before Monsters start making their homes on the surface. A cold wave claws at her soul.

Her mind starts to wonder to the others, and while it hasn't been awfully long, her mind conjures hundreds of scenarios of why they haven't returned—and none of them are pleasant. Her eyes drift back to Frisk's prone body.

 _Maybe they don't need any more healing, but constructing a diagnosis is better than doing nothing._

Alphys walks closer to the two children, coming up with something so Asriel will be more lenient on letting her get close to Frisk. It just wouldn't do to anger the Monster that was blasting the green dome with giant fireballs earlier.

"H-Hey um, A-Asriel," she starts as she gets right next to them. He looks back up with a soft glare—much better than before where it left her shaking. Still, she averts her gaze. "Y-You know h-how, well…" she coughs, trying to clear away her stuttering. "I h-have a lab-b-back in Hotland!" she adds the last part hastily, and when their gazes meet, she notes the unimpressed look in his eyes. Alphys dwindles with her claws. "I-I'm t-the Royal Scient-tist. So I-I know ma-many things ab-bout the s-s-souls. If I w-were to see what cond-dition it's in, I-I could heal them quickly ba-back in my l-lab," she finishes more confidently.

Asriel has a contemplative look. He looks down on Frisk before looking at her again. The young monster nods.

She can't help the smile that breaks out. In the back of her mind she cheers he didn't deny her request.

The Royal Scientist goes down to her knees and moves her hands over the human.

Her smile fades rapidly as she realizes that this will not be a pretty sight. _That much residual sin could only come from a blackened heart._ It was a theory at best as she was studying the human souls, and while she isn't sure how Frisk could come into obtaining so much, Alphys is confident of one thing.

Frisk has the determination to beat it. This is the same lone kid that befriended Monsters that were out to kill them, and stopped short from killing Asriel. She's confident their soul can be restored to its original pure state, and if she has to…she will use that machine then.

So without any flare or visible sign, her magic begins pouring into Frisk's chest.

A second later, she finds herself gaping, and locked in place as all logic shatters. She forgets that her friends and girlfriend are in danger. The world around her darkens and all that's left is the human's soul, or what's left of it.

The glorious red she once saw has now shrunk to half and is tainted nearly pitch black. And around it, completing the normal size of a soul, are the other six colors she studied for so long.

There exists two rules every monster in the Underground knows about, and that's no Monster can absorb a Monster's soul. The same rule applies for humans absorbing another human's soul. Though now that she's getting a better look at it, the soul is still the regular size she's seen before—minus the differences. The other six souls look perfectly stable, radiating their respective colors as the darkness in the center recedes.

 _They have not been absorbed, but only filling the missing spaces._ That's all she can come up without her tools.

She looks at Asriel, who is holding a claw to his quivering snout. His eyes shifting to so many emotions as tears begin to pool. The settle for a narrowed gaze. His sets his hand down before looking at Alphys. "Ca-Can you cure him?" His voices raises and the air becomes hotter. "You studied human souls! You should be able to!"

 _H-How does he know that?!_ Granted, she's very well known in the Underground, but she wasn't even the Royal Scientist when he was still alive. _Maybe Frisk told him?_ Though it's not like that's the most important question right now.

She looks at the human's soul. Their red soul is _almost_ pitch black, but she can see its natural color fighting to return, and the other soul pieces—to which causes her a migraine thinking how **that** happened—pulse as the blackness shakes.

The shock begins to fade as her eyes narrow at the little detail. _It's not permanent._ _ **However**_ _it happened. Frisk's soul is fighting it back._ From what she deduce, the inner struggle is in some form of stalemate, but if she could give potency to the other soul pieces, then they could easily expel/destroy the sin. Alphys might've worried that the central piece (Frisk's determination) would try to absorb the outside energy and fight against the influences of the other pieces, but dismissed that worry as it's not entirely pitch black. So the only problem present is that she doesn't have the necessary soul power to-

Her gaze snap back to the goat prince. His eyes are on the human, and she sees his paws twitch now and then.

"I can't help them." His gaze turns to hers. Betrayal is clear in them, but it moves into a harsh glare. "B-But you c-can!" she hastily adds, realizing her mistake.

He pauses, and gives her a look that orders her to continue.

"W-Well, you s-s-see," she takes a breath to calm her nerves, but it's difficult under the intense glare of the goat monster. "F-Frisk's soul…is already fi-fighting a-against their h-hatred, but…" She swallows. "It needs more power, and…I was hoping…" Alphys smiles nervously. "You could p-provide red soul energy."

"Okay." He moves his paw next to Frisk's soul. Alphys looks confused, because she hasn't explained to him how the delicate transfer of soul power works, for a single error could produce an attack on accident, or how to create red (determination) energy, because it's the only thing that can feed Frisk's new soul without problem. But before she can voice her concern, a red mist emerges from his paw and travels to Frisk's soul.

She watches how it's pulled into it with no complications. The other soul pieces shine brighter, and blackness on their red soul starts shrinking.

Alphys is not a tattle tale by any means, but she really needs to tell this to the King and Queen, or is it Toriel. They're not technically together, but she and most likely every monster would still view her-she's getting off track. Besides, the amount of hate Asriel was able to create, the new state of Frisk's soul, those are things that shouldn't be kept. She herself knows how bad things get when important stuff is kept secret from the rest.

"Done." the Prince's cut off her thoughts, and just like she reasoned, the blackness has left Frisk's soul. "It worked," his voice is almost a whisper, and his smile extends wide. He wipes whatever tears are left before looking at her. "Thanks, Dr. Alphys. Thank y-"

That feeling of happiness is short lived as even she feels it, and following his gaze, she looks behind her. Aside from the ground littered with battle scars, there's a wall of fog not far, but despite not being able to see through it, she feels something dangerous approaching.

A feeling of trepidation crawls over her spine, and her heart clenches in an icy grip.

"You guys look like you seen a ghost. I'm just a skeleton, see? I'm not that scary." And out of the fog comes out Sans the Skeleton, the scariest skeleton that will ever exist-at least in Alphys' opinion.

She still sighs, letting the stress fade away at the arrival of a friendly face. She gets up before addressing him. "If you're here, then the others are alright?" Her lips curve into a shaky smile.

"They were since I last saw them." He rubs his left eye, but something Alphys notices is how his trademark smile dims. "But it's hard to see when the fog is in the way."

Every time Alphys thinks she can clink to a bit of happiness, it gets taken away. "You don't know!?"

He drops his hand and shrugs. "If it's any consolation, Undyne and Papyrus are still alive."

"NO! It isn't!" She pauses, thinking over what she said. "Well, I'm happy that those two are alive, but, Sans, what if the Queen and King die?"

It can easily spell disaster for Monsterkind.

"It wouldn't be so bad." her jaws drop and eyes wide as saucers. "What? I'm pretty sure young billy over there can take the mantle, or what about Frisk, Monsters' number one friend and current Ambassador will be more than happy to lead our race. What do you think little lamb?"

Alphys wants to reproach Sans for his attitude, but she looks back to check on the Prince, and she feels bad for him. The poor kid has Frisk clutched to his chest, one arm around their shoulder and the other one over the head. They have a shaky breath and gaze locked right on Sans.

 _I don't blame him, Sans can be scary, but…_ she looks back at the skeleton, and musters a glare. _T_ _his isn't normal for Sans._ Those white dots he has for eyes shift to her, and he shrugs.

"Just trying to do small talk. Is that bad? You and Papyrus always say I should try to socialize."

She's already thinking of a retort, but stops herself and pinches the bridge of her nose. Alphys is not in the mood to get into an argument with Sans of all Monsters. Especially since it's going to go something like: she makes argument, he does a bad pun, she argues more, he tries to play it off as not a bid deal (like he did just now), and then she gets straight to the point.

So she's going to skip the first three parts. "Do you know how to get out of here?"

"More or less."

She gives him a dull stare.

"Did I mention I get cross-eye in here, because I do." His left eye lights up a cyan blue as he looks around. His steps are slow and deliberate as he scans. Then that gaze stops at a particular patch of land near them. That smile becomes wider but thinner. "Looks like someone had a bad time, but say, where is the victim?"

Alphys already knows he's referring to the 'death zone', but the blond knight is right there-

 _She's not there_ , she's not surprised at this point. She's been too preoccupied with everything else that it literally slipped her mind.

 _*Sigh*_ "Sans," she starts with a tired tone. "Just get us to the rest. Asriel's parents must be worried sick about him, and," her mind conjures an image of a pile of dust that has a black eye-patch in it, "I-want to make sure Undyne is alright."

His eyes lock in to hers. "No problem, but fair warning, you might scream your souls out."

That leaves her confused for a second until ten separate blue flashes grab her attention. She looks up, and immediately her breath hitches. Ten giant skeleton heads with elongated animal snouts, sharp-needle like teeth, and white eyes on black sockets.

She knows what these are, and is ashamed that their very presence makes her unease.

They spread out in the air and once their jaws open, all aim at random angles.

"Sans?" She looks at him questioningly. "What are you doing?"

"Getting us out," he says like it's the most obvious thing. "I think I know how to get us out of this." He waves his hand around. "Dimensional pocket."

Her mouth drops at that. "D-Dimensional pocket?"

"The ground we're standing on isn't real. Just a replicate created from the spatial distortion."

"B-B-But how?" Granted, she's done it with the storage in their phones and the boxes littered in various areas in the Underground, but those are created by the fine tuning of technology and soul energy, and if what Sans says is true, then humans have managed to acquire the power to bend space in large areas.

She's not sure what's worse, that they were attacked after reaching the surface, or that humans have achieved this level of magic.

"Ask the caster, but I think none of those heroes are here anymore." His eyes shift to the Gaster Blasters as their jaws start emitting a white light. "And before you ask how I know that, it took me a while to get here, and you guys are still alive."

Alphys can't stop her body from trembling as her arms wrap around herself. Realizing that perhaps by luck she's still alive, since Frisk is unconscious and Asriel, while powerful, has little control over his soul magic.

"Hey, Alphys, one out of ten says I hit the weak spot. If not, I might consider wearing glasses."

There's humor in his tone, but she knows him for long to pick up the low uncertainty in his tone. After all, what happens if they forcibly break a dimension pocket?

But it's not like staying her trapped is any better, and being at the mercy of the caster if they're released or not.

Ten giant white beams are fired simultaneously. The ones that hit the ground puncture straight through and cause cracks around the impact zone. The ones hitting the fog causes raging winds to come forth, as if the air pressure is different.

But there's one that caused a different reaction. Purple lightning are shot wildly in the air and surge on the surface of the fog as the 'ground' begins to crack with a white light coming through.

"Ahh," hesitation laces in Alphys' tone. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea-"

A thunder clap shuts her up. Purple flashes around the field as the lightning picks up in intensity. The ground feels as if an earthquake is approaching, and all Alphys can do is pray for the best.

She sees sections of the ground just peel off and vanish into nothing, leaving a bright white light.

It comes to the point where she needs to close her eyes and then-

Nothing. No more quaking, and her breathing overwhelm her hearing. She cracks one eye open, and everything looks normal, far too normal.

A healthy green grass, trees standing strong around their little clearing, and clear blue skies that no longer hold the same promise of freedom as it did 30 minutes ago.

"Told you I could get us out." She's so used to Sans, that his voice appearing next to her doesn't scare her.

Alphys gives him a deadpan stare. "Don't pretend this was going to work, even you were unsure."

His eye has returned to normal. "Does that mean you wanted to wait here until you were nothing but bones?"

 _And being at the mercy of those heroes,_ her mind adds more value to Sans' argument. She turns to the kids, giving the victory to the skeleton, but now she's facing a different situation.

Asriel is still clutching onto Frisk, but now has his fangs bared with eyes narrowed in scorn as she hears…growling?

 _Sans really overdid it with his stunt._ She smiles nervously while playing with her claws. "I-I know wh-what Sans-s did wa-was extr-treme but, um, it worked!" She knows she failed miserably when the young prince doesn't even glance in her direction.

"Don't worry about him Alphys. It's hard to get kids to pay attention to you in these days, but this one might be a problematic child."

The flinch from the goat is hard to watch. His body curls around the humans as the fear returns to his features.

"Sans!" It feels like ages since she felt genuine anger towards the skeleton. "What's wrong with you? Why are you…are you intentionally being mean to Asriel?" She ends her tone with open suspicion.

Those white beads turn up to look at her. "You know me Alphys, I don't like doing anything that requires effort."

She blinks and ponders at that. _Did…he mean?_ She realizes that he meant, so she narrows her eyes.

"Frisk! Asriel!" That desperate cry she recognizes coming from the Queen, and its drawing closer.

Sans smiles looks wider. "Look at that, something more important to pay attention to."

"Sans," she says in a warning tone.

"That's odd." his eyes drift to the forest, where she sees Toriel slowly approaching. "The others are taking longer, and…Undyne's energy is fluctuating." That gives her pause. "Weird, I thought that boost she got wasn't going to last, but looks like she kept some of it. What do you think, Alphys?"

She can think of one viable reason that's happening, and she has to hold back a sob from escaping.

Queen Toriel finally emerges from the foliage. Her dress is still intact with minor wrinkles, but she looks dead tired. Her eyes are half-closed and struggling to stay that way. Some patches of her fur has a shiny sheen, and she pants at a quick rhythm.

But that smile is full of relief and joy. She rushes over to her kids, dropping to her knees as she's next to them and picking them up in her arms. An unconscious Frisk rests on one side with their head on her shoulder. Asriel is the same, but he's clinging on to her and pressing his face onto her shoulder.

Alphys can hear the sounds of crying. All the while Toriel is saying words of comfort to him, and shooting worried looks at Frisk.

Watching this scene, she can admittedly say brings relief to her. Which is killed as Sans speaks again.

"Your fish lady is coming." Fear grips her soul again. She wildly scans the trees for any signs for her. "Heh, in the air."

Her eyes dart upwards, and her breath hitches as she catches sight of them.

Floating towards them are the three monsters surrounded in a blue glow, courtesy from Papyrus. She rushes over to them. They land not too far from the Queen, and when the gravity spell is removed, she stops as her breath leaves her.

Undyne is still suspended in a light blue glow, but being this close to her, she can see liquid covering parts of her body. And when it drips to the ground, it's the color white.

"Alphys," her gaze moves over to Asgore, whose seen better days. His armor is cracked in several places, his cape suffered numerous tears, but the worst is his left shoulder. The armor completely tore off with dust marring his fur. The King's eyes are solemn, "It's happening to her."

It is, and she can't deny it, no matter how much she hates it, but she doesn't know how to fix it.

"DR. ALPHYS." That's Papyrus. His eye sockets are smaller and his smile less cheerful. "IT'S A GOOD WE FOUND YOU. I THINK UNDYNE IS SICK."

 _If only she was sick,_ but monsters don't get 'sick' like humans. Only when something affects their soul.

"I FOUND HER ASLEEP. WELL, I THOUGHT SHE WAS ASLEEP, BUT SHE'S COVERED IN THIS WEIRD WHITE GOO."

Alphys knows that Undyne is practically sweating determination. What she discovered with her failure on the amalgamates, is that Monsters just can't handle too much determination. Even injecting little and the Monster's soul runs the risk of producing more on their own. A Boss Monster might be able to handle it, but she won't dare test it. She doesn't want to add another mistake to her conscious.

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU GUYS WERE, BUT I ALSO COULDN'T LEAVE UNDYNE ALONE." Alphys feels like she knows where this is going, and is confused by it. "SO IT DECIDED TO TAKE HER BACK TO MY BROTHER. WHICH REMIND ME. BROTHER! I TOLD YOU NOT TO MOVE FROM THE SPOT!"

"Actually, you said not to get into trouble, and there wasn't any trouble left here." Alphys doesn't need to see him to know that he winked, so instead, she focuses on his brother.

Papyrus is covered in white goo, but otherwise fine. So the big question is: _Why has he and Undyne not fused?_ The Fallen who she injected determination, eventually started creating too much that went they touched another Monster, they merged, thus creating amalgamates.

Papyrus squints at his brother. "I FEEL AS IF YOU TWISTED MY OWN WORDS AGAINST ME, BUT THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT! DR. ALPHYS, PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE A WAY TO HELP HER."

Now she focuses on Undyne, and while yes, she's still dripping white liquid, Alphys doesn't think she's generating more, and if that's the case, _maybe she stabilized on her own?_

Her eyes snap open. She can work with this miracle, even if she doesn't want to use it, she has no option.

"Sans!" She turns around, looking at the short skeleton with new found hope. "I need you to teleport us to Gaster Drainer. If Undyne still has excess determination, then I need to get it out of her."

The skeleton, unfortunately, stays in place. The hand that's in his hoodie shuffles, a movement she recognizes as nervousness.

She frowns. _But why is he-_ Then she remembers. First she feels guilty for bringing it up, but then finds in herself to glare at him. "Sans, he was going to find out sooner or later. Please," she looks at him pleadingly. "Help Undyne."

"BROTHER?"

He stares at her briefly. "…Alright."

She knows he's not okay with this, and the only thing keeping him from showing his displeasure is the presence of his brother.

His left eye lights up cyan, and with the snap of a finger, everyone is gone in a flash of light.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry guys, but university has been a pain this semester, and then my writing habits have suffered, so shame on me for that last part. I want to thank my beta Tapp for making this chapter so much better.**

 **Please review, because those motivate me to write faster, and I need motivation.**

 **P.S. Next chapter will be the last for "A Much Needed Reunion". There's really not much left, but I can't say how long it will be because I seem to write more than what I plan.**

 **Edit (6/9/2018) – Grammar fixes. Nothing too major.**


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